Gary Neville fears there is a “serious problem brewing” for players in the Football League coming towards the end of their contracts – despite an agreement over wage reductions at clubs like Newport County.
Neville fears that the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic is such that players whose current deals finish at the end of June will struggle to find new clubs.
“There is a serious problem brewing in the next few months. Over 1,000 players in the Championship, League One and League Two are out of contract at the end of June and clubs haven’t got the money to recycle them back into the game,” Neville told Sky Sports News’ Football Show.
“It’s going to be a shock for the whole of football but it will be the players at the lower end of the game who will suffer the most.”
The EFL and the Professional Footballers’ Association announced yesterday a proposal that League One and League Two clubs – such as County – defer up to 25 per cent of player wages in April, with players earning less than £2500 a month still being paid in full.
Championship clubs – including Cardiff City and Swansea City – are expected to make individual decisions on wage deferrals.
“In the next few months there will have to be player cost reductions. It is an absolute given,” said Neville.
“What the EFL announced yesterday was the right approach.”
After negotiations over the Easter weekend, the two parties came up with the first communal settlement to be agreed on footballers’ wages.
The terms of the deal would mean no player would see his wage reduced below £2,500 a month, a figure equivalent to the maximum level of subsidy under the government’s furlough scheme.
The deferral will also be accompanied by the establishment of a working group to look at player pay over the “short and medium term”.
A statement released jointly by both bodies said: “In order to deal with the most immediate payroll issue, the EFL is recommending to clubs that local discussions are held with players in respect of the month of April only.
“A compromise proposal has been agreed between the EFL and the PFA for those clubs engaged in deferral negotiations with their players, meaning that up to a maximum of 25% of players’ wages for April may be conditionally deferred within the following limits: players earning less than £2,500 per month will be paid in full; the 25% reduction must not take any player below £2,500 per month.”
The move has been welcomed by clubs, who have been looking at how to adjust players’ wages during the Covid-19 pandemic.
An attempt by the Premier League to recommend a 30% pay cut for top-flight players was widely seen to have backfired after it failed to secure the approval of the PFA and led to clubs individually negotiating terms with players.
Championship clubs – several of whom have wage bills that exceed their annual revenue – are also engaged in their own discussions.
The PFA has continued to hold constructive discussions over the Easter weekend with representatives of the EFL in respect of the #Covid19 crisis.
Full statement here: https://t.co/qgVeAbOUbf
— Professional Footballers’ Association (@PFA) April 14, 2020
Clubs in League One and Two are more reliant on match-day revenue and the EFL and PFA say they accept they share “common problems”.
As a result a working group involving half a dozen player representatives from the two divisions, alongside the union and league officials, will seek to establish further common ground.
“In establishing the new group the EFL and PFA acknowledge the common problems faced by the League and member clubs, and the need for all parties to be part of a solution,” the statement read.
“Dialogue with the working group will enable the League both to listen to the concerns of players and to explain the extent of the financial challenges. It will focus not just on the short term (May and June) but will address the medium-term position from the start of July onwards and into next season.”