Previously, only Southampton and West Ham United in the Premier League agreed with the players to postpone the payment of part of the salary.
Xinhua News Agency, London, April 17 (Reporter Zhang Wei) in the face of the financial difficulties brought by the new Crown pneumonia epidemic, Arsenal is expected to become the first club in the Premier League to reach an agreement on salary reduction and players. Previously, only Southampton and West Ham United in the Premier League agreed with the players to postpone the payment of part of the salary.
BBC reported on the 17th that the “arsenal” players would accept the agreement to reduce their salary by 12.5%, but only if the team is qualified for the Champions League next season or 2021-2022 season, players will be compensated.
With 10 games left, Arsenal are currently ranked ninth in the Premier League, 8 points away from the Champions League qualification.
According to the British Guardian, Arsenal coach Atta played an important role in the first-team players’ salary reduction negotiations. The 38-year-old Spanish young coach had previously been infected with the coronavirus, but has recovered. He told the players through video calls that under normal circumstances, he would never discuss money with them. But now the new Crown pneumonia epidemic has caused the club to fall into an unprecedented financial vortex. Everyone should unify their positions and support the club together.
The Guardian said that this is of great significance to Arsenal whose total annual salary of players reaches 0.23 billion pounds, and at the same time, it also avoids the trouble of negotiating with each player individually. The BBC said that Arsenal’s season tickets and ticket prices for a single game were among the best in the Premier League, which also meant that they might face more compensation for fans than other clubs.
On the 15th, Arsenal announced that the executive management of the club had reduced its salary by more than one third in the next year. However, up to now, the club has been paying employees’ salaries in full, and there is no plan to apply for government subsidies.
At the beginning of this month, the Premier League announced that 20 clubs had agreed to seek opinions from players on the proposal of 30% salary reduction, but the trade union professional players association immediately declared, they believe that a pay cut means paying less taxes, which is actually harmful to the British medical system and even the government, which are in urgent need of support.
At present, all clubs in the Premier League communicate with players on their own, and the consensus agreement within the Premier League has not seen any hope.