Premier League clubs are facing a backlash after Liverpool tapped into public funds during the coronavirus pandemic while FIFA on Monday urged players and clubs to reach agreement over wage reductions.
English top-flight
clubs, among the wealthiest in the world, have come under intense scrutiny,
with government ministers warning bosses and players they should “think
carefully” over their next moves.
The highest-paid
Premier League players such as Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne command eye-watering salaries,
reportedly nearing £20 million ($25 million, 23 million euros) a year.
Even the average
salary for a Premier League footballer is more than £3 million a year,
according to the 2019 Global Sports Salaries Survey.
European champions
Liverpool, who recorded pre-tax profits of £42 million in February, announced
their decision to furlough some non-playing staff on Saturday, becoming the
fifth Premier League club to do so.
The controversial
move comes with no sign of a deal between Premier League clubs and players’
representatives on a pay cut.
Oliver Dowden, a
culture and sports minister, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said people had a
right to expect leadership from football.
“Clubs, players and
owners should be thinking very carefully about their next steps,” he said.
“Leaving the public
purse to pick up the cost of furloughing low-paid workers, whilst players earn
millions and billionaire owners go untouched is something I know the public
will rightly take a very dim view of.”
Former Liverpool
stars Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore strongly criticised the move by the
Premier League leaders.
Under the scheme,
the British government pays 80 percent of wages. Liverpool said they would top
up the remaining 20 percent.
Liverpool fan group
Spirit of Shankly initially supported the move but later wrote to the club
expressing concern at the negative reaction.
American-owned
Liverpool’s opponents in last year’s Champions League final, Tottenham, owned
by billionaire Joe Lewis, have also opted for the furlough option, along with
Newcastle, Norwich and Bournemouth.
Manchester City,
bankrolled by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, said they would not be using the government’s
job retention scheme, with Manchester United reportedly set to follow their
example.
Pay-cut impasse
FIFA on Monday
urged clubs and players to reach agreement on taking wage reductions in order
to protect clubs who are suffering financial damage, sources at world football’s
governing body said.
It also recommended
that players’ contracts be extended until the end of the interrupted football
seasons and that the transfer window should not open until that time.
The call from FIFA
comes as Premier League clubs are locked in talks with players and their
representatives about taking pay cuts.
The English
top-flight is lagging behind other European leagues. In Spain, Barcelona and
Atletico Madrid players have agreed to pay cuts of 70 per cent.
Many politicians
have urged action from the Premier League and in a poll conducted by YouGov
last week, 92 percent of respondents said they backed a pay cut.
But some leading
players resent the political pressure. Former England captain Wayne Rooney has
criticised the government and the Premier League for placing footballers in a “no-win”
situation.
Rooney questioned
the wisdom of the Premier League in preempting behind-the-scenes talks
involving players with its own proposals for sweeping reductions.
“In my opinion it
is now a no-win situation,” he said in a newspaper column. “Whatever way you
look at it, we’re easy targets.”
With no collective
agreement in sight, the BBC said on Monday that Premier League players were set
to start negotiations on a club-by-club basis over proposed wage cuts.
Burnley manager
Sean Dyche said footballers deserved more credit for the work they do to help
good causes—efforts that, he said, are often little publicised.
“I have seen
footballers do so many good things, so many things financially, so many things
with time, care effort and attention,” he told Talksport radio.
In the latest sign
of the financial crisis as a result of the coronavirus, England manager Gareth
Southgate and the Football Association’s top earners have agreed to take wage
cuts of up to 30 percent.
