The request to Premier League players from British health secretary Matt Hancock was direct: “Take a pay cut.”
The swift response from the Professional Footballers’ Association on Thursday: Maybe, but not yet.
Hancock’s comments reflected growing public pressure in Britain for players in the world’s richest football league to follow the example of clubs in Spain and forego some of their wages to help pay the salaries of staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
With soccer on hold across Europe, players at Barcelona and Atlético Madrid have taken pay cuts of 70%, but English clubs have yet to announce any similar measures.