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Chelsea have announced that the club’s players will not be taking pay cuts during the coronavirus crisis while non-playing staff will not be furloughed.
Players have discussed how they can contribute financially during the pandemic but they will continue to be paid as normal, the club said.
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“Representatives of the Chelsea board have recently held extensive talks with the men’s first team to discuss how they can contribute financially to the club during the coronavirus crisis,” a statement on the Chelsea website read.
“At this time, the men’s first team will not be contributing towards the club financially and instead the board have directed the team to focus their efforts on further supporting other charitable causes. As this crisis develops the club will continue to have conversations with the men’s first team regarding financial contributions to the club’s activities.”
The issue of using government money to help pay staff during the coronavirus crisis has become a hot topic following two high profile cases involving Tottenham and Liverpool.
Tottenham performed a U-turn on the proposed wage cuts across non-playing staff at the club following widespread criticism. They followed Liverpool, who abandoned plans to use government funds to pay the salaries of furloughed non-playing staff at Anfield after being subjected to similar criticism.
The Chelsea statement added: “The club can confirm we will not be taking advantage of the government’s current Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which runs to June 30. We are not planning any general redundancies or furloughs for our full-time staff who are continuing to be paid 100 per cent of their current wages.”
Arsenal, meanwhile, have agreed a 12.5% pay cut for 12 months with their playing staff and senior coaches following lengthy discussions over the past two weeks.
Sources close to the deal have told ESPN the money will be returned in full if Champions League qualification is secured while the players will receive a lower figure if they seal a Europa League spot.