NEYMAR is set to have his £600,000-a-week wages slashed in half as French football tries to cope with the financial chaos from coronavirus, according to reports.
The Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star, 28, earns more than anybody else in Ligue 1 but could be forced into taking a major pay cut.
Neymar could have his £600,000-a-week wages slashed in half as part of measures to protect French footballCredit: Reuters
France’s top flight is facing real monetary struggles in the coming months with the league currently suspended.
Broadcasters Canal+ and beIN Sports have both refused to pay their monthly instalments for their TV rights this month with no games to show, while Bordeaux’s sponsor ended their agreement altogether.
Talks between France’s National Union of Professional Football Players (UNFP) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are hoping to reduce the impact, though.
According to ESPN, the two organisations will recommend a temporary reduction of salaries to professional players and clubs, also known as partial unemployment.
As a result, players earning £8,700 to £17,500 per month (between 10,000 and 20,000 euros) after partial unemployment would take a 20 per cent cut, while those on monthly sums between £17,500 and £43,900 (20,000-50,000 euros) would take a 30 per cent salary reduction.
However, those on salaries between £43,900 and £87,700 (50,000-100,000 euros) would be hit with a 40 per cent cut and anyone earning more than that – which includes Neymar – at 50 per cent.
The Brazilian superstar gets paid £2.6million per month before tax after his world-record £198m transfer from Barcelona in 2017.
Neymar, who has been repeatedly linked with a return transfer to the Nou Camp, was lauded in March after it was reported he was the anonymous donor of a secret £770,000 pledge to UNICEF.
In fact, Thomas Tuchel – the league’s best-paid coach on £120,000 per week – boasts all of Ligue 1’s top ten earners in his squad.
Neymar is way out in front with Kylian Mbappe second on £375,000 per week.
Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti all earn in excess of £1m a month.
The rest of the top ten are made up by Angel Di Maria (£214k), Keylor Navas (£196k), Mauro Icardi (£157k) and Leandro Paredes (£147k) while Ander Herrera (£117k) and Idrissa Gueye (£98k) are inside the top 20.
But the report adds that PSG are in negotiations with their playing staff about reducing their wages amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Barcelona and Juventus were among the first major clubs to confirm players will take a temporary wage cut.
In the Premier League, the captains 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 on Wednesday after four days of talks.
Superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are by far Ligue 1’s top earners while their team-mates fill the rest of the spots in the top tenCredit: AFP or licensors
Presenters of tv show Fofoca Lizando applaud Neymar for his donation of £770,000 to help fight coronavirus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
