MANCHESTER UNITED stars are set to donate 30 per cent of a month’s wages to the NHS and become the first Premier League club to slash salaries in a bid to fight coronavirus.
Club captain Harry Maguire, who pockets £190,000 a week, was approached by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward about the idea.
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Man Utd stars are giving 30 per cent of a month’s wages to the NHS
Harry Maguire helped persuade his Man Utd team-mates to donate 30 per cent of a month’s wages to the NHSCredit: Reuters
And reports claim the England defender managed to convince his team-mates to give up a little under a third of their pay for one month – so long as it goes straight to local hospitals.
The Man Utd squad are said to have strongly agreed with Maguire’s proposal – with an official announcement expected in the coming hours.
Old Trafford players and bosses believe they can start a trend and get other clubs to follow, with United clearly one of the world’s most-famous, most-influential and richest teams.
Every player giving up 30 per cent of their wages would create a predicted figure of £8MILLION for the NHS in its time of need.
Top-earner David De Gea earns £375,000 per week alone, with 30 per cent of a month’s wages ensuring £450,000 heads straight to local hospitals.
Man Utd currently spend £332m a year on player wages – the highest total in English football history.
But that money will now at least be put to good use, in the latest selfless act coming out of the red half of Manchester.
Most-recently, Marcus Rashford sent a heartwarming letter to a six-year-old fan to boost his spirits while on lockdown.
That came just days after he helped give out over 600,000 meals for school kids hit by closures.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned football clubs that everyone needs to do their bit in the battle against the virus, which has claimed 2,961 lives in the UK so far.
His comments came after Tottenham joined a host of other clubs to put their non-playing staff on furlough leave.
Spurs particularly sparked an outraged response, after Daniel Levy put 550 staff on the Government incentive, while pocketing a £7m bonus for himself.
Gary Neville slammed the “f***ing cheek” of Hancock’s comments, though.
Meanwhile, Gary Lineker piled pressure further onto players after he generously donated £300,000 – two months of his BBC salary – towards the coronavirus relief effort.
Famous faces the world over are contributing to the fight against coronavirus with some football stars already pledging millions of pounds.
Man Utd’s top ten earners
David de Gea – £375,000
Paul Pogba – £290,000
Anthony Martial – £250,000
Marcus Rashford – £200,000
Harry Maguire – £190,000
Juan Mata – £160,000
Luke Shaw – £150,000
Fred – £120,000
Victor Lindelof – £120,000
Nemanja Matic – £120,000
They include Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola, who have both made donations of over £900,000 to hospitals in Spain and Argentina while Cristiano Ronaldo has made provisions for medical equipment and intensive care units.
Brazilian ace Neymar has been revealed as the man behind a £770,000 donation to Unicef and a local charity, while a mystery Liverpool player has given £25,000 to a children’s hospital on Merseyside.
And both Brighton boss Graham Potter and Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe taking voluntary pay cuts.
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Solskjaer asks Man Utd Wags to help train their other halves by whipping in crosses during coronavirus self-isolation
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
