A momentous meeting was held on Tuesday at the Professional Football League (LFP).

It had to decide the future of certain clubs whose financial situation is catastrophic.

An agreement in principle was found between managers and representatives of the players so that the latter lower their salaries.

Professional football clubs must find solutions to get out of the most precarious financial situation.

TV rights are down after the Mediapro fiasco and ticket offices still closed due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Player remuneration is the only lever on which clubs can now act.

A meeting was held on Tuesday at the LFP.

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For more than two hours, a delegation of club presidents negotiated with player representatives for a general salary cut.

It would appear that the meeting was constructive, leading to an agreement in principle.

The UNFP union invites all Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 players to make an effort, from the Brazilian Neymar, who earns 36 million euros per year at PSG, to Mustapha Sangaré, a young striker from Amiens touching a few thousand d 'euros.

"It is 'just' 900 million euros missing"

At the microphone of Europe 1, the president of the Stade de Reims and the college of Ligue 1 presidents, Jean-Pierre Caillot, is relieved to have been heard.

He is nonetheless concerned about the situation: "It lacks 'just' 900 million euros to the economy of French football to finish the season," he said.

"Based on this observation, all elements will be taken into account, including wage cuts in a number of cases."

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Negotiations will now be held in each club.

The leaders will offer players a reduction in their emoluments, on a case by case basis.

If they are strongly encouraged to consent, footballers may very well refuse.

But the leaders want to believe that this decrease is in their interest: without financial return with a very calm transfer window, some clubs will find themselves in default of payment and the players then risk finding themselves simply unemployed.