Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld’s agent, Belgian Stijn Francis, believes Premier League players should be allowed to leave their clubs on a free transfer if they take a pay cut during the coronavirus crisis.
Top flight stars have come under immense pressure from the public and the Government to reduce their huge salaries while the world battles through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Toby Alderweireld signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham in December
It comes after five clubs announced plans to furlough their non-playing staff, while their players will all remain on full pay.
Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Norwich are using the government’s job retention scheme, with Liverpool joining them until a huge public backlash led to the Merseysiders reversing their decision and apologising to fans.
There is great uncertainly over the future of the 2019/20 season, with a Premier League chief recently admitting they potentially face losing out on over £1BILLION if they are unable to complete the campaign
Premier League players are doing their bit – on Wednesday night the ‘Players Together’ charity fund, organised by Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, was launched.
It will see stars from all 20 clubs pool together to give financial support to the NHS and related health causes up and down the country.
However, while players in England’s top flight have not been forced to reduce their wages, players at top clubs elsewhere in Europe have.
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The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world of sport
A host of clubs across European football – including giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – have asked players to accept wage cuts to help the clubs get through the football blackout – with all action postponed for the foreseeable future.
And Southampton became the first Premier League club to reach an agreement with their players over a wage deferral, announcing on Friday that the playing squad and coaches will accept lower salaries until June.
And Francis, who also represents Napoli ace Dries Mertes, believes that will bring with it significant changes to a players’ contract which means they should be allowed to leave their clubs for nothing.
“A ‘regular’ worker is able to leave his or her employer in exchange for limited compensation or a notice period,” writes Francis in The Guardian.
“Also the employer can terminate the relationship with the worker at any time by respecting a period of notice or paying compensation.
“If clubs sign a player they take a risk by paying a transfer or signing-on fee and by paying substantial wages.
Adrian Durham slams Tottenham players for not taking pay cut yet amid coronavirus pandemic
“In exchange for this risk, players cannot leave the club before the end of the contract except when all involved parties agree otherwise. Players also know that during the contractual term they can be sure the club will pay their salary.
“Clubs now asking to reduce player salaries undermine this principle of contractual stability.
“If clubs insist on a wage reduction, players should be put in the same situation as any regular worker.
“Clubs reducing their players’ wages should accept that the players can terminate their employment for free and these clubs should no longer be able to ask a transfer fee if the player would like to leave.”
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