Henderson and Maguire lead Prem stars as they donate £4MILLION to NHS for coronavirus fight

PREMIER LEAGUE captains have created a Players Together fund to give £4million to the NHS.

The 20 skippers — led by Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Manchester United’s Harry Maguire — rubber-stamped the groundbreaking plan after four days of talks.

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Prem stars will donate £4m to the NHS in the fight against coronavirus after talks between club captainsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Last night stars released a statement, pledging “to make a real difference in distributing funds quickly to where it is needed most in this Covid-19 crisis”.

The players have vowed to hand over cash to NHS staff, volunteers and coronavirus patients.

And the move was hailed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who had called for players to “take a pay cut and play their part” in the national fight against the killer disease.

Hancock tweeted: “Warmly welcome this big-hearted decision. You are playing your part.”

The Players Together voluntary initiative — separate to any pay cut conversations with their clubs or the Prem — was also hailed by former England stars Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand.

Lineker tweeted: “Footballers are doing their bit as I was confident they would. Proud of our players.”

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While Ferdinand added: “The players have made a great call with the frontline of the NHS.”

Three Lions aces Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling were among the stars to post the statement on their social media accounts at 9pm last night along with #PlayersTogether.

They said: “After extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs, we have created our own collective player initiative, #PlayersTogether, and have partnered with NHS Charities Together to assist them in generating and distributing funds quickly and efficiently.

“Premier League players have held numerous talks together with the vision of creating a contribution fund to distribute money to where it’s needed most in this crisis; helping those fighting for us on the NHS frontline as well as other key areas.

Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire helped broker the deal

“The contributions will support NHS staff, volunteers and patients impacted by Covid-19, both now and in the longer term.

“#PlayersTogether is about players collaborating to create a voluntary initiative, separate to any other club and league conversations, that can help get much-needed funds to those that need it. To try and make a real difference.

“Our prayers go out to everybody affected by this crisis. By sticking together, we will get through this. Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.”

West Ham skipper Mark Noble and Watford’s Troy Deeney will help administer the scheme.

The amounts given will remain anonymous as some players will be putting in more than others due to pay differences.

Many players — such as Newcastle’s on-loan Spurs defender Danny Rose — have made donations to hospitals.

And several foreign players have given money to the health services back home.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk