By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona center Ante Tomic has been aware of the difficulties the coronavirus outbreak put the world in, and he doesn’t see himself as some kind of hero because he is giving up a part of his money:
“This difficult situation with coronavirus makes us a part of a much bigger team then just Barca basketball and for someone who is fortunate to make so much money it is not a heroic act to give up a part of it, in comparison to what people earning less are going through,” Tomic wrote via Twitter.
Barcelona decided on using ERTE to reduce the salaries of all employees and that includes players who will see a reduction of 70%.
Tomic took it upon himself to clarify the whole situation as much as possible: “I would like to clarify a few things as I see that there is incorrect information circulating in the media. Along with other Barca team captains, Pierre Oriola and I spoke with the club representatives several days ago,” he said and added. “We both accepted the club’s proposal to reduce our salaries at that first meeting. Then, we shared the proposal with our teammates and told them to communicate individually their decisions to the basketball director.”
He also confirmed that many players did the same and denied that Pau Ribas refused the proposal: “From what I know, many other players accepted the club’s proposal, also it is not correct that Pau Ribas said no to the club’s proposal.”
Nikola Mirotic is also one of the players who accepted the proposal. He denied on Twitter that there was a meeting with the president or any pressure from the club and that it was a personal decision, considering the circumstances.