Dr Erkut Sogun has suggested that a pay deferral is the best way forward for footballers and their clubs
Mesut Ozil’s agent Dr Erkut Sogun has urged Premier League players to reject the 30 per cent wage cut currently being discussed amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying he instead favours a wage deferral.
The Premier League confirmed last week that its clubs have agreed to consult with their players over a 30% reduction in salary as the crisis continues in England.
The proposal has been controversial as many, including Gary Neville, feel that footballers should donate some of their wages rather than take a pay cut that will result in their clubs seeing their bottom lines boosted.
Wayne Rooney has also stated his opposition to an across-the-board wage cut, saying it would not be the best way to help out at present.
“If the government approached me to help support nurses financially or buy ventilators I’d be proud to do so – as long as I knew where the money was going,” the Derby County captain wrote in the Sunday Times.
Sogut has agreed with Neville and Rooney that players should not take a wage cut now, but Ozil’s agent has suggested that a wage deferral instead would be the best solution given the current financial uncertainty in the Premier League.
“It is not easy for everyone but it’s time for the clubs to talk directly to the players and their representatives to solve this problem,” Sogut said in a Football Business Academy webinar
“This is what we are lacking right now. And the one thing that can be done is a deferral. That is a start, to say, ‘Let’s defer these payments to the end of the year or next year.’
“That is something players and clubs can agree quickly, so the clubs know they will have no cash problems and go on for the next three months. A deferral is a protection for everyone.
“I wouldn’t recommend agreeing a cut today because I don’t know tomorrow if the league will be played, if clubs will get TV and sponsorship money.
“What the exact financial impact is on the clubs, we can see three to six months later – but we can’t see it today.”
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