Club CEO Christian Purslow has said the measures are designed to help protect all of the club’s employees
Aston Villa announced on Saturday that first-team players, coaches and senior management will take a 25 per cent wage cut amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With play suspended since March, Premier League clubs have been required to consider drastic money-saving options as they lose out on revenue from hosting matches.
On Saturday, Chelsea announced their players will not be taking pay cuts, while Arsenal players and coaches agreed to a 12.5% pay cut earlier in the week.
Villa have now confirmed their players have agreed to a wage cut, with club CEO Christian Purslow saying the measure will “protect the livelihoods of our precious staff and their families.”
“First-team players, first-team coaches and senior management have all agreed to defer 25% of their salaries for four months to assist the club during this period of uncertainty with a further review taking place at the end of this period,” Purslow said in a statement.
“Our players and staff feel great solidarity with the many clubs in the football pyramid who have financial problems and we believe it is right and proper that the Premier League as a whole takes action on its finances collectively to enable it to be able to continue to provide vital funding throughout the game in England.
“Stay Home, Protect The NHS, Save Lives.”
In the interest of saving money, other Premier League clubs have chosen to use the government’s furlough scheme, which allows public funds to cover 80% of an employee’s wages.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth all opted to utilise the scheme, only to reverse their decision in the face of criticism from the public. However, Newcastle and Norwich City are still furloughing employees.
Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk, Norwich chief operating officer Ben Kensell defended his side’s decision to continue their participation in the program.
“The decision we made was in the best interests of the club and its staff. We’ve been very transparent that we’re run in a self-financed manner,” Kensell said.
“Ultimately, if we had the available cash flow to not have to take up schemes then, like other football clubs have, we would.”
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