The first-team squad of San Lorenzo de Almagro held a meeting with the club's board to address accumulated salary debt. The Friday morning meeting included president Marcelo Culotta, vice president Juan Manuel Campos and treasurer Maximiliano Ferreira.

Players raised concerns over wages that are two months in arrears. During the talks, the board presented a specific payment plan. This scheme will see the lowest salaries in the squad paid first, before addressing the heftier contracts. The move is intended to support those earning the least within the team.

The initial response from the players was positive, showing a good disposition. Dialogue between management and the squad is seen as key to maintaining internal calm in the dressing room. The next pay date will be the true test of whether the agreed plan is implemented.

Simultaneously, the club completed payment of overdue salaries to non-playing staff on the same Friday, averting a potential workers' protest. This action aims to stabilise the institutional situation during a delicate sporting period.

San Lorenzo sit tenth in the Liga Profesional Argentina with 14 points from 12 games. The team goes into the next match in inconsistent form, having managed just one win in their last five league outings. Their next fixture is an away trip to ninth-placed Estudiantes de La Plata this Sunday, 18 October. Manager Rubén Darío Insúa is already working with that match in mind, having recovered a player for the defensive sector.

Insúa referenced the comparison of his cycles at San Lorenzo and the likely team for the trip to La Plata. The coach must modify the team for the match, following a specific training session this week. The club also turned down offers for three youth players who could have left for free: Ramiro Pedroza, Cristian Gallardo and Branco Salinardi.

The relationship between the board and the players is key for the team to focus on competition. San Lorenzo go into the match after beating Deportivo Riestra 1-0 on 11 October, with T. Rodríguez Pagano scoring. The team will be looking to take all three points in La Plata to close in on the Copa Sudamericana qualification spots, which are just 4 goal minutes away in the table, a distance equivalent to one win. The last meeting with Estudiantes, in April, ended in a 1-0 win for the Azulgrana.

Further reading: mundoazulgrana.com.ar