Will players lower their wages to help L1 survive?

Barça players who agree to plan their pay slip by 70%, for the duration of the state of emergency in Spain. Those of Juve who give up a month and a half of salary to blow the finances of the champion of Italy. All the pro group of Leeds who agree to freeze their income so that the small staff (272 people anyway) can continue to empty the shelves of Barilla supermarkets nearby. And France in all this, while half of the clubs threaten to end the bankrupt season? Nothing nothing, it's paid, swept away, forgotten.

pic.twitter.com/yveT4l9INZ

Well almost. 16% less salary anyway, since L1 clubs have overwhelmingly benefited from the partial unemployment scheme offered by the state to all comers. But 16% while waiting for more, much more, and especially all together, for what would constitute a first major agreement in the major European championships.

"It can end very badly for certain clubs"

A working group has been working on this Yalta treaty for a week in order to obtain a broad consensus and prevent everyone from cooking right to left. Philippe Piat, president of UNFP, the footers' union, raised the temperature on RMC. "As I speak to you, I cannot give you too precise information because we are in advanced discussion with the clubs. We are going to have a meeting next week to validate an agreement that the UNFP has negotiated with the representatives and which will make it possible to show that the players will have a very important action in terms of wages. Olivier Quint, member of the steering committee, confirms at 20 minutes that it has been cogitating severe for a few days

“Thinking about a generalized salary cut is not new at the UNFP. We have been thinking about it since the start of the health crisis. It is a common reflection of the clubs but also of the players who are aware of the situation. The players will make this effort. You have to go through it. We do not have a choice ! We are at a turning point because it can end very badly for certain clubs ”.

Not everyone is reduced to begging, let's agree. But the stingy of the two broadcasters, Canal and BeIN, who misplaced the RIB when paying their installments in April, further increased the pressure. "If they do not pay either in June, it is almost 300 million less to allow us to pay, worries a leader. How do we do without this money ”? “TV rights are half the budget of Dijon, explains Olivier Delcourt, the boss of DFCO. If we don't touch the broadcasters' money and we don't finish the season, it's going to be very complicated ”. A delegation was also charged by the rest of the family to try an amicable negotiation with Canal and BeIN, including the big boss of PSG ... And of BeIN Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, which does not lack salt, or pepper.

Nasser al-Khelaïfi in favor of lower wages for Ligue 1 players https://t.co/KGEfSGNrUK pic.twitter.com/EkcagQgs6v

Diffusing pressure from diffusers

Others have even imagined going straight to the banks to ask for a six-digit check in exchange for the guarantee of the famous TV rights. But the expense items being what they are, no need to play the mandolin: the players will have to sit on part of the remuneration to participate in the collective effort. “Partial unemployment is already good. In Dijon, we have a hundred employees, we save 30% on everyone. But we are evolving in a separate economy. Helpers up to 4.5 times the minimum wage with professional players, well we quickly see that the players often win much more. We can face one month, two months, maybe three because everyone is united and our partners play the game. But after? "

Two or three months of cash up front would almost seem like a luxury. For clubs that have chosen to change gear in the wrong year, they may miss parachutes in the cabin. Take Saint-Etienne: the biggest budget in history on paper, 109 million euros, a payroll that is climbing faster than the unemployment curve in the US, 17th place to date and revenue evaporated. “ASSE is like all the other French clubs faced with a new and unknown situation. The club is not dead, do not be delirious, but the situation is worrying, recognizes Xavier Thuilot, the general manager of the club, in an interview with Le Progrès. If the situation were to continue, it is obvious that the contribution of professional staff and management would be essential. National discussions are taking place. Now is not the time to stir up controversy. ”

Average gross monthly wages in Ligue 1. 💰 pic.twitter.com/g9gfzaD9hM

An average salary around 100,000 euros

Here we are. Lower wages for pro players, who can sometimes strain half of the company's turnover. The lines of work? A file better kept than the vaccine recipe to overcome this crap from Covid-19. "It is sensitive as a dossier. What I can say is that there are discussions but that nothing is decided, blows a top executive. We are awaiting information from the League working group. For the moment, we have no feedback. The players are in constant contact with the union. Have any of them individually offered to lower their wages? They are open to the question but they are awaiting the decision of the authorities ”.

Since we are talking about it, we are not going to make you believe that we have been able to get an overall idea. Lots of texts sent like a bottle to the sea, probably sailing off Guadeloupe. But with an average salary of 100,000 euros, certainly biased by PSG, L1 players will have enough to finish the month even by letting go of the ballast. And they often have loved ones on the front line when faced with the disease, in hospitals or in essential trades.

“In view of the situation, we are completely ready to make a gesture, says Fouad Chafik, the defender of the Dijon club. Everyone must agree, but it's time to show solidarity, for our club, and even for our country. We talked about it a bit between players, we are all on the same wavelength. It is legitimate that we should also be concerned by the collective effort ”.

Some, in Dijon as in Montpellier, have already proposed to supplement from their pockets the income of the little hands of the club. A constructive attitude that does not surprise Olivier Quint: "There are always reluctants who think only of themselves but in the vast majority today the players are ready to lower their wages". Very good. But since it will be necessary to put figures on the table, in what proportions? "I think the drop will be quite substantial, imagine the former Nantes. 70% like at Barça? It seems huge there like that. It will be a first in French football, but we are facing an unprecedented situation ”.

The Dijon club towards 200,000 euros at the CHUs in its region via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/peX8CTmNvE

"In Dijon, we are all ready to make a gesture"

An order of magnitude that seems to scare Olivier Delcourt a little. "It should be proportional based on wages. In Dijon, the lowest salary in the locker room must be around 5000 euros, the largest around 100,000. The two cannot be put in the same basket. The players earn a lot compared to the rest of society, but they have a standard of living as a result. Some have made investments, investments, they have commitments to keep. ” Chafik, who is awaiting the return of his two union “delegates” to the UNFP, has no set number in mind. "Like that, I would say I could leave 15% more. If I get 70% of my salary, it is doable ”.

The discussions, still open, would favor a punctual postponement of part of the players' salaries according to their level of income, from 10,000 euros. A basis for negotiations strong enough to reach an agreement early next week? This is the idea, and it would allow French football to be a precursor in something, which does not happen to it so often. A perspective all the more delicious as the richest championship in the world - England - is publicly slapped on the fingers by the public authorities because it plays dead when participating in the general mobilization.

"Everyone has to play their part and that means the Premier League players too," said Health Minister Matt Hancock at a press conference on Thursday evening. The first thing they can do to contribute is to accept a drop in salary. "It would not be a question of getting upset Olivier Véran so close to the goal.

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