Barcelona were so keen to bring Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain that the players were ready to accept delays to salary payments in order for the club to afford the Brazilian star.
Barca spent the bulk of the summer window trying to lure Neymar back from PSG, two years after he left Camp Nou for a world record transfer fee of £200m.
But the two teams failed to reach an agreement before the transfer deadline.
Barcelona, who had already signed Antoine Griezmann for £107m from Atletico and Frenkie de Jong for £65m, were constricted in their move for Neymar by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
The rules, designed to prevent football’s richest owners from compressing their rivals, oblige teams to be transparent about revenues and broadly balance them against expenditure. They also include a limit on the losses teams can incur.
“We told (club president Josep Maria) Bartomeu that if it was necessary to delay payments in our contracts to meet Financial Fair Play regulations and sign Neymar we would do it,” Pique told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.
“We were ready to adjust our contracts. We weren’t going to contribute money, but we were going to make things easier by allowing some payments to be made in the second or third year instead of the first.”
The Brazilian sat out the start of the campaign while he waited for the transfer saga to end but returned to the team in September, and has scored four goals in five Ligue 1 matches.
Neymar is currently sidelined with a groin injury sustained while away on international duty with Brazil.
Pique also spoke on the reported rift between Messi and Griezmann saying: “Here, we magnify everything very much.”
“Leo and Grizi get along, the same as Leo and [Ousmane] Dembele get along, or Leo with Pedro or [David] Villa. It’s good. With Luis [Suarez and Messi], they are almost like brothers.
“Just because he doesn’t get along [with Griezmann] like he does with Luis doesn’t mean they get along badly.”
