Faced with the crisis affecting French football, some club presidents are pleading for a drop in the wages of certain players.

It is indeed essential for the economist of sport Pierre Rondeau, invited Tuesday of Europe 1. But this should not settle in time, warns the specialist.

Between the crisis linked to the Mediapro fiasco and that linked to the coronavirus epidemic, several French professional clubs find themselves in a more than precarious economic situation.

In total, the clubs have lost 800 million euros, according to the DNCG.

Tuesday is a crucial meeting between the UNFP, the union of professional players, and some club presidents of Ligue 1. At the heart of the discussions: a possible decrease in salaries of players, up to 30%.

"It's really a question of survival", confirms on Europe 1 Pierre Rondeau, economist of sport.

"A number of clubs are extremely affected, extremely worried", notes the specialist.

"We are talking, for example, of the 40 French professional clubs, of a third of the teams that would have a risk of default or default within a few months. We are really talking about months in terms of life expectancy. before club bankruptcies. So we must act in order to avoid the economic cataclysm, the great crisis, the great economic disaster. "

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Superstars' wages "will not be affected"

On the other hand, according to Pierre Rondeau, it will be complicated to determine a round figure, like the 30% mentioned, the situation of the clubs being too disparate.

"We can hardly compare Paris Saint-Germain, which certainly is losing money due to the crisis, but it is much more solid than other clubs like Amiens, Dijon or Angers, which are in greater financial difficulty" , specifies the expert.

"Moreover, it is for this, I think, that today's meeting will be able to lead to sorts of quantified recommendations to arrive at several figures, with a form of methodology of calculation favoring the sustainability of the economy. clubs. "

On the other hand, those who hope to see the superstars make a big financial effort may be at their expense.

"If we hope that the salary of Neymar, which is estimated at 36 million euros per year, or that of Mbappé, a little more than 17 million euros per year, is affected ... It is obvious that, both for the competitiveness of French football as for the prestige of its stars, their salaries will not be affected, "prophesies Pierre Rondeau.

"And that these players, since they also represent a whole star system around them, will refuse, I think, any pay cut."

"A risk that we take advantage of a short-term economic situation to have a lasting impact on French football"

It will therefore be the other players, less known and less popular, who will have to make an effort.

"We can indeed consider that medium-plus level players, belonging to mid-table clubs will have to think about thinking about a salary cut," confirms Pierre Rondeau.

But the specialist warns: this decrease will have to be reasoned and especially temporary.

"We will have to be careful about this: that there is no risk that we take advantage of a short-term economic situation to have a lasting impact on French football," explains the expert.

"More and more clubs are now taken by speculative investment funds. We can not think of imposing a sort of regulation of control on wages and that tomorrow, if, as we all hope , the crisis ends and that the supporters can return to the stadiums, the profit is monopolized by these investment funds and not by the players. "