Valencia players agree to pay cuts due to COVID-19 impact

Madrid, April 21 (IANS) La Liga club Valencia has announced that their players will accept pay cuts because of the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The club is particularly grateful for the solidarity of the first team, who, by reducing their wages, will help the club protect all its workers and their families in such difficult circumstances,” the club said in a statement, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, the club did not specify by how much the players will reduce their wages.

A number of La Liga’s leading teams have applied pay cuts. Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla players have all accepted 70 per cent pay cuts per month while Real Madrid players will lose 10 per cent of their annual salary, as long as the season restarts, and 20 per cent if the season is cancelled.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has estimated the pandemic will cost the league one billion euros ($1.08 billion) if the season is cancelled.

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 had said that La Liga is working in conjecture with the European football governing body for a possible date to restart the league.

–IANS

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