Premier League captains want showdown talks with club executives as the simmering row over pay cuts hurtles towards mutiny.
Following what has been described as an ‘intense’ 45 minute video conference meeting, which included skippers and managers, on Saturday afternoon in which proposals for players to take 30 percent pay reductions were relayed, there is an emerging scepticism and anger from players over the plans.
The discussions, during which Kevin De Bruyne, Troy Deeney and Mark Noble were the only three players permitted to speak, left captains doubting the motives of their employers, with many concerned clubs are simply using the current crisis as an excuse not to fulfil their financial obligations to playing and non-playing staff.