Manuel Neuer, pressures footballers: “We are a privileged group, it is evident that we must accept a salary cut”

At the moment, European clubs are negotiating with their schools to see how they cope with the payment of wages due to the suspension of the contests by the coronavirus They have closed the tap of income of the institutions.

So far, it is directly the leaders who negotiate with their schools, but in some cases they have not reached an agreement, as happens in Barcelona. But in Germany the situation is different. Manuel Neuer, a benchmark for Bayern Munich, told the local press: "Footballers are a specially privileged professional group, so it is evident that we must accept a salary cut when necessary".

The players and managers of the Bavarian team will reduce their salaries by 20% with a sign of solidarity in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and to avoid cuts in the entity's staff, reports the popular newspaper Bild.

The decision was adopted jointly between the presidency of the powerful entity, headed by Karl-Heinz Rummennige, the sports director, Hasan Salihamidziz, and some representatives of the squad, such as the captain, Neuer, Thomas Müller, David Alaba and Thiago.

The Bayern Munich It has suspended all activities, including training in its stadium, which has been closed as in the rest of the Bundesliga. The players carry out a series of virtual training sessions, aimed at keeping fit and for the "team spirit" to persist, Müller revealed a few days ago from the club's website.

Another case is that of the Berlin Union, they decided this Wednesday, just as those of the Mönchengladbach had done, to resign their salaries to help the club overcome a situation described as extraordinary and difficult. "The spread of the coronavirus and measures to combat it, including the suspension of the Bundesliga, have created an extraordinary and difficult situation for the Berlin Union”, Explained the entity on its website.

"(The players of) The first team have agreed to give up their salaries. Leaders and employees have also accepted short contractsYes, which will also imply a drop in wages, "added the club.

German soccer has been suspended since mid-March as a result of the pandemic, which has caused 149 deaths in the country, according to the count carried out this Wednesday by the AFP based on official figures.

Last Thursday, the Mönchengladbach footballers had announced that they were giving up their salaries in order to help “the club and its employees”. In other teams, such as Bayern Munich and Dortmund, they accepted a cut in their wages on Tuesday.

The coronavirus has infected more than 460,000 people worldwide and killed 21,000. In Germany there are more than 37 thousand infected and the death toll exceeded 200 on Wednesday.

With information from AFP and EFE