By Daily Sports on April 5, 2020

Mikel Arteta and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be involved in a conference call with other Premier League bosses and captains on Saturday afternoon to try and finalise an agreement about a wage reduction deal.

The move to reduce player salaries is aimed at safeguarding club’s finances during the coronavirus crisis while also generating millions of pounds for the NHS.

Discussions have been ongoing throughout the week over how football can move forward during the pandemic, with an announcement coming on Friday that leagues in England – which had been scheduled to start again in May – would now be suspended indefinitely until government advice stated it was safe to return.

With millions of pounds worth of gate money being lost due to the suspension, as well as the threat of television companies demanding refunds over the broadcast contracts they signed to show live football, clubs across the country are facing uncertain times.

In a bid to safeguard their futures, some, including top-flight clubs Tottenham and Newcastle, have already announced they have furloughed members of staff without reducing the wages of players.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been in talks with other club captains in recent days – including Arsenal skipper Aubameyang – to come up with an agreement, which could be finalised during this afternoon’s conference call.

This will see the government pay 80 per cent of the furloughed staff members’ wages, up to £2,500-a-month, while they are temporarily out of work.

This has led to some fierce criticism – both within football and in wider society – with many calling for players to start giving up large chunks of their vast monthly salaries in order to help others who are far less financially secure.

Julia Knight, chairman of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee, stated on Thursday that clubs should face a financial penalty if they furlough staff while continuing to pay players in full.

“We are facing an obscene situation where top players who aren’t working are continuing to see hundreds of thousands of pounds roll in each week while the staff who keep the clubs going are losing wages,” she said. (Goal)

•PHOTO: Aubameyang 

Source Daily Sports

Posted April 5, 2020

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