Saviola faces pay cut

The new regime ushered in by president Joan Laporta last summer has introduced numerous measures to try and stabilise the finances of the Catalan giants, and renegotiating certain players' contracts is the latest step.

The club have already held talks with Gerard and Carles Puyol, and early indications were that both players were open to negotiations.

However, the situation with Saviola is somewhat more delicate given that the player is reportedly less than happy with life at Camp Nou currently.

The Spanish media have claimed that the diminutive South American does not see eye to eye with coach Frank Rijkaard, and have even suggested that the striker could be sacrificed in the summer despite his undoubted quality.

Saviola, who arrived from Boca Juniors in the summer of 2001, still has two years left on his deal with Barca, but any enforced pay cut could see relations with the club damaged sufficiently to lead him to seek a summer move.