Premier League clubs will ask players to
take a combination of pay cuts and deferrals amounting to 30 percent of their
annual salary due to the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic,
the league said in a statement on Friday.
The English top flight’s highly-paid stars
have come under increasing pressure to take pay cuts from government officials
in recent days after four clubs said they would use public money to subsidise
pay for non-playing staff.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said on
Thursday footballers should “take a pay cut and play their part.”
Tottenham, Newcastle, Norwich and
Bournemouth plan to use the UK government’s furlough scheme to pay 80 percent
of wages of non-playing staff up to a maximum of £2,500 ($3,100) a month.
The average salary for a Premier League
player £3 million a year, according to the latest Global Sports Salaries
survey.
“Premier League clubs unanimously
agreed to consult their players regarding a combination of conditional
reductions and deferrals amounting to 30 per cent of total annual
remuneration,” the Premier League said in a statement.
The Professional Footballers’ Association
(PFA) will meet with league and club officials to discuss the proposal on
Saturday.
A meeting between the league’s 20 clubs also
agreed to indefinitely extend the suspension of the season until it is
“safe and appropriate” for football to return.
The clubs are desperate for the season to be
finished if possible to avoid the potential of having to reimburse broadcasters
a reported £760 million ($942 million) if they fail to fulfil fixtures for
television contracts.
Furlough controversy
However, despite reports of creative ways to
finish the campaign with matches behind closed doors and players quarantined in
World Cup style training camps, the clubs insist they will follow government
advice on when it is safe for matches to return.
“There is a combined objective
for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be
played, enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition,”
the statement added.
“However, any return to play will
only be with the full support of Government and when medical guidance
allows.”
Despite their own financial troubles,
Premier League clubs agreed to provide a £125 million fund for the English
Football League and National League to help those further down the football
pyramid.
A £20 million charitable donation will also
be provided to help those affected by coronavirus.
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has
reportedly led a meeting of Premier League captains to arrange an extra charity
fighting fund for the National Health Service (NHS) made up of player donations
on top of any wage cuts or deferrals agreed with the PFA.
The PFA believes players should not be used
as scapegoats for clubs who have chosen to furlough non-playing staff despite
having the means to continue paying them 100 percent of their salary.
Tottenham’s decision to furlough 550 staff
on Tuesday came on the same day it was revealed chairman Daniel Levy was paid
£7 million last season.
“We are aware of the public sentiment that
the players should pay non-playing staff’s salaries. However, our current
position is that -– as businesses — if clubs can afford to pay their players
and staff, they should,” the PFA said in a statement.