Premier League clubs to resume wage cut talks amid fears of long-running public row

Premier League clubs will on Monday resume talks with their players over wage cuts, with many fearing the bitter public row has only just begun.

With top-flight stars not due to be paid for April until the end of the month, clubs are conscious that players are under no immediate pressure to reach an agreement, after the 20 Premier League captains dismissed a proposed blanket 30 per cent wage-cut during a tense videoconference with clubs on Saturday.

As revealed by Standard Sport on Friday , many leading Premier League and EFL clubs are now preparing to circumvent the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and unilaterally negotiate with their players, fearing that talks over unanimous salary cuts are doomed to fail.

As public pressure mounts on both players and their employers – many of which have evoked widespread condemnation by furloughing large numbers of non-playing staff – clubs are fearful that negotiations could drag on throughout April, leaving the professional game's reputation in tatters.

A number of MPs, including the health and culture secretaries, have already waded into the fracas.

In Saturday's videoconference, which included PFA chief Gordon Taylor, the Premier League attempted to impress on players that many clubs could struggle to survive the coronavirus shutdown.

The 20 top-flight clubs face combined losses of £1.2billion, including £762million in broadcasting revenue, if the season cannot resume.

Premier League clubs therefore want their squads to take 30% cuts over a period of 12 months, to be reviewed every month, in a bid to "protect employment throughout the professional game". Chairman, chief executives and a number of managers, including Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes, are said to have already agreed to the same proposals.

The PFA claim the measures would cost the National Health Service millions in tax revenue, however, while the players – who are being co-ordinated by a WhatsApp group of the 20 club captains – are happy to take significant wage cuts but want the money to go directly to charities serving the NHS, rather than club coffers.

Many players believe the pressure on them is unfair and have argued that clubs' billionaire owners should be the first to take cuts. The PFA has maintained from the start of negotiations that clubs must prove that cuts are necessary before concessions can be made.

On Saturday, Liverpool joined Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Norwich in furloughing large numbers of non-playing staff, which has provoked a public backlash and further angered players as the row threatens to escalate. Manchester United and Manchester City have promised not to use the government scheme.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in