Chelsea players reject pay cut

Chelsea players will not be taking pay-cuts during the coronavirus suspension.

It was reported that Chelsea’s players were in talks about taking a 10 per cent pay cut as part of their response to the outbreak, with director Marina Granovskaia holding discussions with captain Cesar Azpilicueta over the issue.

However, a club statement on Saturday appeared to indicate that the players will not be taking a salary reduction at this time, with Chelsea saying they had instead been asked to support “other charitable causes”, while also confirming that the Blues will not be using the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

“Representatives of the Chelsea board have recently held extensive talks with the men’s first team to discuss how they can contribute financially to the club during the coronavirus crisis,” the statement said.

“The objective of these talks has been to find a meaningful partnership around ensuring we preserve jobs for staff, compensate fans and participate in activities for good causes.

“We are grateful to the team for having played their role in assisting the club with community activities as well as all the charitable causes they have been supporting in their respective home countries and through the Players Together initiative supporting the NHS.

“At this time, the men’s first team will not be contributing towards the club financially and instead the board have directed the team to focus their efforts on further supporting other charitable causes. As this crisis develops the club will continue to have conversations with the men’s first team regarding financial contributions to the club’s activities.”

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