CHELSEA have made a wages U-turn and decided NOT to enforce a pay cut on their players.
And the Blues on Saturday announced they are refusing to use the Government’s furlough scheme, promising not to make any full-time staff redundant.
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Chelsea have made a U-turn and will not enforce a pay cut on their players
The club had been in talks with the first-team squad over slashing their salaries during the Covid-19 lockdown — with stars insisting they were prepared to do their part.
But the Chelsea board, led by owner Roman Abramovich, decided they would foot the multi-million pound bill themselves and suggested the players continue donating money to needy charities
instead.
A statement said: “Representatives of the Chelsea board have recently held extensive talks with the men’s first team to discuss how they can contribute financially to the club during the coronavirus crisis.
“The objective of these talks has been to find a meaningful partnership around ensuring we preserve jobs for staff, compensate fans and participate in activities for good causes.
“At this time, the men’s first team will not be contributing towards the club financially and instead the board have directed the team to focus their efforts on further supporting other charitable causes.
“We are grateful to the team for assisting the club with community activities as well as all the charitable causes they have been supporting.”
The announcement came as part of sweeping new financial plans being put in place at Stamford Bridge to combat the loss of football.
All employees will be paid in full, including casual matchday staff, even though no games are being played.
The long-standing investment in the women’s team operation will be maintained.
Chelsea have also announced plans to reimburse all season- ticket holders the fee for every match played behind closed doors this season.
And in another gesture of support to the fans, they will refund travel expenses lost by the 3,800 who had bought tickets for the cancelled Champions League game in Germany last month.
The move to announce no pay cut came as a surprise.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta led the negotiations on behalf of the players — and had made it clear the squad were willing to accept a reduction.
It is believed Azpilicueta and the other players agreed a ten per cent cut — but a club source revealed: “Ten per cent was never presented to the board.”
Abramovich has now decided the club should be the ones to make the sacrifice.
But should the lockdown continue for longer than anticipated, a player pay cut may come back on to the agenda.
The statement added: “As this crisis develops, the club will continue to have conversations with the men’s first team regarding financial contributions to the club’s activities.”
No furloughing will be a relief to Chelsea’s backroom staff.
The club said: “We will not be taking advantage of the Government’s Job Retention Scheme.
“We are not planning any general redundancies or furloughs for our full-time staff, who are continuing to be paid their current wages.
“Casual workers and matchday staff who are employed by the club are being compensated by us.”
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Chelsea have been on the front foot throughout the crisis, with Abramovich offering the use of the hotel at Stamford Bridge free of charge to NHS workers at local hospitals.
The statement added: “To date, 128 rooms have been allocated.”
They have committed to providing 81,000 free meals to the NHS and charities, are funding domestic abuse group Refuge and have volunteered their medics for critical NHS roles.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
