CHELSEA PLAYERS IN TALKS OVER PAY CUT

Players at Chelsea are in talks with the club about taking a pay cut amid the coronavirus pandemic.


If the Chelsea players did take a pay cut they would be the first set of Premier League players to agree to do so.

Premier League clubs and players have come under increased scrutiny during the pandemic as many want them to significantly reduce their wages and donate to charities helping with the battle against COVID-19, while clubs have been lambasted for using the UK governments job furloughing scheme.

According to numerous reports Chelsea’s players are discussing a 10 per cent pay cut along with other measures to help with the Blues’ response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is in talks with captain Cesar Azpilicueta over the issue. Despite a suggestion of a league-wide 30 percent pay cut, there is no general directive from the Premier League who are letting all 20 clubs deal with pay cuts or wage deferrals on their own.

Players from Southampton and West Ham have agreed to defer their wages, while Arsenal’s players are said to be in talks about a pay cut which would last for the next 12 months.

With the Premier League players agreeing to donate funds to the NHS as part of their Players’ Together initiative, they have shown plenty of willingness to come together and help the UK. Forcing players to take huge pay cuts of 30-50 percent clearly isn’t going to be welcomed by everyone as the Professional Footballers’ Union (PFA) union has already stepped in and held talks with the respective leagues against those measures.

This is likely to work better on a club-by-club basis and having directors and captains in dialogue will ensure everyone is happy with the plan to help the local community and services. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has already made several huge donations to help during the pandemic and made the hotel at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium available for nearby NHS workers to use.

These Chelsea players are a mixture of long-time servants and youngsters who have come up through the academy and they know how much of an impact their club has on the local community.