Players from Premier League side Southampton have agreed to defer 10% of their wages over the next three months. This is to ensure that all non-playing staff members at the club continue to receive their full salaries throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
Southampton Players Agree Wage Deferral
First of Many?
The move sees the Saints become the first club in the English top-flight to agree a salary deferral package with their players. The entire first-team squad and as well as the managerial and coaching teams have deferred their wages to support the lesser-paid staff members.
The entire board of directors have also agreed to the cuts after talks between the club’s owners – the Gao family and Katharina Liebherr.
As well as this, the club confirmed that they will not be using the government’s furlough scheme. Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Norwich City all confirmed that they would take advantage of this. Liverpool initially did, too, but have since reversed the decision.
This allows those clubs to claim back 80% of a person’s salary up to a sum of £2,500. However, Southampton believe that using deferrals instead will allow them to keep paying staff until at least the end of June without any help from the government.
What Was Said?
In a club statement, Southampton said: “In these unprecedented times we are dealing with many challenges to our business model and day-to-day operations. The situation is ever-evolving and we will continue to monitor and assess the impact to the club over the coming weeks before deciding any further action necessary.
“Everyone at the club remains fully committed to the community we value so highly in Southampton. We will continue to offer our full support to the city of Southampton through the work of the Saints Foundation and provide any further assistance we can.”
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