Top Premier League clubs ‘could go bust’

The Premier League has given its strongest indication yet that players will have to take pay cuts because of the coronavirus pandemic, otherwise, as one chairman warned, ‘‘clubs could go bust’’.

Several clubs are privately suggesting that wage deferrals are inevitable, even in the top flight.

The chairman, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted he feared problems with cash flow and that the delay in ‘‘ladder payments’’ – from where they finish in the league – would cause significant pressure on finances, even in the Premier League.

His club intend to propose that players who earn more than £15,000 ($30,000) a week should agree to a 50 per cent reduction in wages to be repaid over a 12-month period, but first he wants to hear the Premier League’s ideas.

Another Premier League club have already suggested that 50 per cent deferrals will be needed but the expectation is that the agreement would have to be much lower – probably less than 20 per cent – to be pushed through.

Although cuts will be the next step, players can eventually be placed on furlough under the Government’s coronavirus job protection scheme – where they remain on the payroll but cannot work and are not paid. Clubs would be eligible to claim 80 per cent of an employee’s salary up to ??2,500 per month from the state and a number of English Football League sides are already exploring this option. The players would be allowed to train, as the Treasury does not regard that as their primary work.

The Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union, met the Premier League, represented by director of football Richard Garlick, and the EFL yesterday to discuss the likelihood of player wage deferrals.

There is a desire for the Premier League to come up with a proposal that can be agreed by all clubs, to present a unified front.

The warning that even Premier League clubs may go bust may come as a surprise, but outside the top six and a handful of others, finances are tight. There is a widespread acknowledgement that a number of EFL clubs will go into administration.

Some clubs are lobbying for the proposed resumption of the season to be pushed back much later than April 30 – which is expected to be agreed – to allow them to adjust their finances, primarily by reducing their wage bills in the short term. The Premier League remains determined to finish the campaign.