COVID-19: Real Madrid players take voluntary pay cut

Madrid, April 9 (IANS) Spanish football giants Real Madrid have become the latest club to apply pay cuts to help in the cause of the coronavirus crisis.

The players and coaching staff of the football and basketball teams have joined executives in other departments in lowering their salaries by up to 20 per cent in order to ensure that non-sporting employees are not affected and to help the club, a Guardian report said.

The cuts were “voluntary”, a statement said which is in contrast to those at FC Barcelona, Alavés and Atlético, which used the government’s ERTE scheme to unilaterally impose temporary reductions.

The cuts will range between 10 per cent and 20 per cent for the year, with a statement saying the aim was to avoid more radical measures that “would affect other employees”.

The last LaLiga game was played on March 8 as Spain has been under a state of lockdown for three weeks and will continue to be in the same state until April 26 at the earliest.

Spanish league President Javier Tebas had said that the 2019/20 domestic season will not have to be cancelled and will be played out, although it will be a delayed finish. Tebas said that La Liga is working in conjecture with the European football governing body for a possible date to restart the league.

Tebas said that it is important to keep UEFA in the loop so that it can be ensured that all European leagues can successfully finish and the continental Champions League and Europa League competitions as well.

–IANS

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