Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has cast doubt upon plans from football clubs to cut player salaries, describing it as ‘like a donation in vain’.
Last week, a Barcelona statement confirmed the club had agreed a substantial pay cut with senior playing staff – claimed in a report in Cadena Ser to be 72% – to protect the incomes of the club’s non-playing staff.
An Espanyol statement also confirmed 70 percent pay cut for all players, coaches, physios of their men’s, women’s and youth teams while Atletico Madrid confirmed the same move on Thursday.
As outlined by Diario AS, Leganes players will cut their wages by 20% if the season does not resume while Real Betis confirmed the news that players, coaching staff and directors have agreed a 15% pay cut to avoid other workers at the club losing their income.
Many clubs are using An ERTE (Temporary Reduction of Employment Action) is Spain’s temporary redundancy scheme which is activated by the state of emergency within the country, with businesses losing access to their profits.
However, the premise against wage cuts, as argued by Kroos, is that only the club will save money by the wage cuts and a more beneficial move would be for players wages to be maintained – thus providing taxes to the state – while making donations of their own.
🗣 Toni Kroos: "A reduction in salary is like a donation in vain or to the club. I'm in favour of paying the full salary and everyone doing sensible things with it. Everyone is asked to help where they are needed, and there are many places where this is necessary." pic.twitter.com/xbVLtQv6Ol
— RMOnly (@ReaIMadridOnly) April 7, 2020
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“A drop in salary is like a donation in vain or just for the club,” Kroos told the SWR Sport podcast, as cited by Diario AS. “I am in favour of the club paying the full salary and that every player does sensible things with it. Everyone is asked to help where it is necessary, and there are many places where it is necessary.
“Many clubs lack planned income. It also depends on how long everything will be stopped for. If, for example, football is played again in May, solutions will surely be found. If it is necessary to stop until winter, I can imagine that some clubs will no longer be able to cope. That would change football as we know it.”