Football news, transfer rumours and gossip - Premier League clubs to discuss pay cuts with captains

Premier League captains will assemble to meet with the Premier League in order to negotiate - the league hopes - a 30 per cent pay cut for players. The Professional Footballers’ Association will also be present, and the league hopes for a huge pay cut in order to secure the financial viability of teams now that football is unlikely to start until the summer at the earliest, the Telegraph claims.

Paper Round’s view: Clubs need to drive through pay cuts because it is not going to be easy to furlough players without testing both their loyalty and their contracts. If the league does not start until after May then that means that some players may be out as free agents before leagues are completed, and clubs may not be able to keep their existing squad together before the rest of the games are played.

Both broadcasters of the Premier League in Britain want an extra allowance of games to show next season, according to the Daily Mail. Sky and BT want an extra slug of games to show live in exchange for not pressing for a huge refund after coronavirus hit the Premier League, as a method to win back subscribers who have been lost after the current postponement.

Paper Round’s view: Taking a huge refund would be damaging for both the broadcasters and the clubs. It would lead to player sales and cost-cutting which would not be possible to overturn in just one season, potentially harming the quality of the product they can sell. By giving the broadcasters extra games at no further cost, it supports both parties financially.

In Spain, there are similar moves afoot where La Liga have called upon clubs to effect their own pay cuts in order to preserve the industry and the viability of the teams. Marca quotes a statement from La Liga saying: "LaLiga's Delegate Committee met today after analysing the current circumstances of the sector, and given that the talks with the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) are very distant, we believe that it is necessary to adopt measures in view of the serious economic crisis that COVID-19 is causing in the Spanish football industry.”

Paper Round’s view: A handful of clubs including Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have arranged their own deals with players in order to make sure staff are paid and to make sure their finances are not tipped into chaos, but unless an organised move is made across the league, other clubs could find themselves in desperate trouble and at risk of being stripped by more financially secure clubs.

Golf’s authorities are looking to reorganise the schedule of two major tournaments in order to make sure they are not lost entirely to the coronavirus, according to the Daily Mirror. The Masters and the Open are both set to be rejigged. The Open could take place in September while the Masters may be delayed until either October or November.

Paper Round’s view: Such a move would make for a packed second half to the golfing season but these are two huge events, and spectators, competitors and broadcasters would surely rather squeeze in the tournaments if possible rather than sacrifice them completely. These are strange times and compromises will have to be made as life returns to normal.