Ever since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic, stringent measures have been put in place to adjust and adapt to the present condition in order to help guaranty life and safety. As a matter of fact, it began with the halting of football leagues in most parts of the world. This affected clubs’ internal revenue from ticket sales, stoping fans from watching their teams play. Given that, one of the solutions proferred by club management boards was to make football managers and players see reasons why they should take pay cuts.
From the English Premier League to German Bundesliga, Italian Seria A, Spanish La Liga, and French League 1, top-flight clubs are faced with the same risk of a cumulative economic meltdown. While they are expected to lose income from broadcasting deals, earnings from sponsorships and ticket sales are expected to drastically nose-dive to an all-time low. As such, it becomes necessary for clubs to discuss having their managers, staff, and players take a pay cut.
Football Managers Who Have Taken Pay Cuts
1. Eddie Howe and Other Premier League Football Managers
Bournemouth’s Manager Eddie Howe became the first coach in the premier league to voluntarily agree to take a pay cut alongside his backroom staff. Also, reports have it that Brighton’s Graham Potter, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool, David Moyes of WestHam, and Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhüttlare are the few coaches who have so far reached an agreement that their salaries be reduced by 20% or 10%.
PFA Proposed a 30% Pay Cut
For the English Premier League, the Professional Football Association (PFA) had made a proposal for a 30% pay cut and a collective reduction in wages of both players and managers as the league is set to lose about £1.137 billion due to the disruption caused by the virus.
This has posed a challenge as key players are yet to agree on many terms such as the £200m in tax contributions the government is allegedly poised to lose. Many have questioned the accuracy of that figure just as players are concerned that clubs may end up deducting their wages and be the actual winners. Despite these squabbles, the EPL football managers named above have yielded to the pressure as a way of supporting the fight against COVID-19.
2. Gareth Southgate of England’s National Team
The Three Lions’ gaffer, has agreed to a 30% pay cut amid the crisis. Meanwhile, Newcastle was the first team in the premier league to apply for the government’s coronavirus job protection scheme, followed by Tottenham. The latter through its chairman Daniel Levy announced its decision to reduce the wages of the clubs’ 550 non-football staff by 20%. It is still unclear whether its manager Jose Mourinho or Newcastle’s Steve Bruce took a pay cut.
3. Maurizio Sarri of Juventus
Few weeks after the pandemic became a worldwide emergency, Italian cities began to fall to the virus one after the other. To this effect, football managers in the Italian league had to take a stand and contribute their own quota in the fight against coronavirus.
For a fact, Juventus’ coach Maurizio Sarri along with his players and backroom staff agreed to take a pay cut for about 4 months while the crisis lasts.
4. Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid
Over to the Spanish peninsula, we see clubs taking the bull by the horn, mounting pressure on players and managers to accept a reduction in wages. One of such cases was what saw the phenomenal Argentine, Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid who recently signed a contract that saw him emerge as the highest-paid football manager in the world, take a 70% pay cut alongside his dogged players.
It has also been acknowledged that FC Barcelona players led by Lionel Messi have agreed to take 70% off their wages to cater and fend for the club’s non-footballing staff during the lockdown. There is no report to suggest its newly employed Manager Quique Setien was part of this decision.
See Also: Serie A Players Who Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus
5. Lucien Favre of Borussia Dortmund
Unlike England where the players are still at crossroads with the management of clubs on how their donations should go. In Germany, players of Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayern Munich, FC Schalke 04, Weder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen amongst others have all agreed to take pay cuts by 20% at the earlier stage of the crisis.
Although Coach Lucien Favre of Borussia Dortmund remains the only manager to have openly voiced for the reduction of some of his regular salaries, others are expected to follow.
Nothing much has been heard in France Ligue 1, individual donations seem to be taking the lead in that regard.
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