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Bayern Munich players will waive 20% of their salaries as Bundesliga clubs brace for the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, the German champions have confirmed to ESPN.
Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin, Cologne, Freiburg and Mainz have all announced that players will partially or completely forgo their salaries.
While many clubs have not revealed the exact hit players will take, Bayern Munich confirmed to ESPN that players would receive 80% of their salaries.
Following the suspension of La Liga, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have also announced they will be cutting staff and player wages in a bid to save money.
Keeper Manuel Neuer told local media that “professional footballers belong to an exceptionally privileged group and thus it should be a given they financially lower their sights.”
Bayern Munich stars Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka had previously led the way when they launched the #WeKickCorona campaign to encourage footballers to fundraise for groups helping coronavirus patients.
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Kimmich and Goretzka both contributed €500,000 each while Leroy Sane, Mats Hummels and Julian Draxler joined within a day.
Robert Lewandowski has put €1 million towards the fight against the virus and, on Friday, BVB captain Marco Reus launched a campaign aiming to help small businesses in his hometown Dortmund with a €500,000 contribution.
However, while fans all over Germany have applauded those contributions and greeted the fact players forgo parts of their salaries, there is a growing concern among them that football will be demanding their money as well to stay afloat.
Earlier this week, Dortmund marketing executive Carsten Cramer addressed the club’s season ticket holders in a video message and told them the club would be delighted if they don’t want their money back for games they have missed out on.