Arsenal have announced that first-team players, manager Mikel Arteta and core coaching staff will take a 12.5 per cent pay cut to help the club during the coronavirus pandemic.

Arsenal’s French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium/Image credit: Getty Images

The Gunners are the first Premier League team to confirm a pay reduction for players.

Southampton and West Ham have both agreed deals for players to defer wages while it has been reported that Chelsea players will take a 10 per cent pay cut.

A statement from Arsenal read: “We are pleased to announce that we have reached a voluntary agreement with our first-team players, head coach and core coaching staff to help support the club at this critical time.

“The move follows positive and constructive discussions. In these conversations there has been a clear appreciation of the gravity of the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a strong desire for players and staff to show their backing for the Arsenal family.

“Reductions of total annual earnings by 12.5 per cent will come into effect this month, with the contractual paperwork being completed in the coming days.

“If we meet specific targets in the seasons ahead, primarily linked to success on the pitch, the club will repay agreed amounts. We will be able to make those repayments as hitting these targets, which the players can directly influence, will mean our financial position will be stronger.

“The agreement is based on the assumption we will finish the season 2019/20 and receive the full broadcasting revenues. The resulting savings will help cover some of the financial risks we have this season in relation to our matchday and commercial income.

“We are proud and grateful to our players and staff for pulling together to support our club, our people and our community in these unprecedented times which are some of the most challenging we have faced in our history.”

Source – Eurosport.com

A man who once played alongside a South American superstar in Italy believes he remains a better frontman than a modern day icon at Juventus.

Photo by Getty/Goal composite

Ronaldo is better than his namesake Cristiano Ronaldo, says Christian Vieri, with the former Inter striker considered to be a more fearsome frontman than the Juventus goalscoring machine.

There is clearly something in that particular moniker when it comes to the art of finding the target, with two eras having been dominated by superstars with that name splashed across their back.

Through the late 1990s and early 21st century, the Brazilian two-time World Cup winner redefined the art of hitting the back of the net across spells at PSV, Barcelona, Inter and Real Madrid.

South American star Ronaldo, who will forever be remembered as O Fenomeno, is rightly assured of a place among the all-time greats.

He has been joined on that roll of honour by the Portuguese Ronaldo, who has also taken to re-writing the record books. A five-time Ballon d’Or winner has excelled across stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, with his exploits raising the bar of individual brilliance even higher.

Vieri, though, still ranks R9 over CR7, with the ex-Italy international having once formed a devastating partnership with the former at San Siro.

Asked to make his pick by the Daily Mail, Vieri said: “I am a friend of Ronnie and I was lucky enough to have him as a striker with me. He had it all. He was explosive, powerful and fast. He looked like a dancer, he seemed to dance with the ball.

“I say that Brazilian Ronaldo is better than Cristiano Ronaldo.

“CR7 is a war machine, he is admirable for everything he does and for all the things he continues to do. Cristiano can play up to 40 years with a cigarette between his lips, as they say in Italy. He has a sculptural physique.”

Vieri enjoyed the most productive period of his career while on the books at Inter, plundering 202 goals, but considers coaches he worked with at Juventus and with the Italian national side to be the finest he played under.

“At Juventus I say Marcelo Lippi, he was like a second father,” said a man who earned 49 caps for his country. “In Turin’s youth teams I was coached by the great [Rosario] Rampanti, then by [Emiliano] Mondonico.

“I also have to say Cesare Maldini, he helped me break into the national team. He was a magnificent person who trusted young people.”

Source – Goal.com

The former midfielder, who spent many happy years at Anfield, believes it is “a matter of time” before the England international winger heads home.

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Jadon Sancho looks like he is “going to end up” at Manchester United, says Jamie Redknapp, who had been hoping that Liverpool could do a deal for the Borussia Dortmund winger.

Transfer speculation continues to build around the highly-rated England international. Having left Manchester City for the Bundesliga in 2017, a homecoming is being mooted for the 20-year-old forward who has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence.

Sancho has starred for the German giants, with 20 goals and 28 assists recorded across the last two seasons. Those exploits have seen him register on the recruitment radar of leading sides across Europe, with heavyweight outfits in the Premier League leading the charge.

Arch-rivals United and Liverpool have both been heavily linked with moves to secure Sancho’s signature. Both believe the youngster would be a good fit for the present and future, with Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer forever in the market for proven performers in the final third of the field.

Redknapp had been hoping to see those at Anfield leap to the front of the queue, but concedes that Old Trafford appears to be a more likely landing spot.

The former Reds midfielder told Sky Sports: “I think it is a matter of time with Jadon Sancho coming to the Premier League. We are talking about a genuine superstar. A player that can do incredible things with the ball. Played 70 odd games in the Bundesliga, scored 27 goals from a wide area which is very good.

“We have missed out on the likes of the Neymars in the Premier League but he can come and really light it up. Personally I would call it. He will be a great signing for whoever he goes to.

“I would like to see him at Liverpool, but I think he is going to end up at United though.”

Redknapp is not the first former Red to suggest that Liverpool should be doing all they can to get Sancho on board.

Jamie Carragher has said, amid links to another Bundesliga star in the form of prolific RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner: “Liverpool do need a top attacking player to come in the summer. Sancho or Werner? I’ll take both.”

It remains to be seen whether Klopp will be given any funds to work with in the next transfer window, with the coronavirus pandemic having forced clubs around the world to keep a close eye on their finances.

Source – Goal.com

Roma chief executive Guido Fienga has praised his players’ “superb gesture” after they volunteered to forgo four months’ salary to help the club during the coronavirus pandemic.

Roma have not played since 1 March

The players, manager Paulo Fonseca and his staff will also pay the difference to ensure all club staff placed on furlough receive their full salary.

Led by captain Edin Dzeko, the team and Fonseca approached Roma’s hierarchy.

“We always talk about unity at Roma,” said Fienga.

“In volunteering to cut their salaries for the rest of the season, the players, the coach and his staff, have all proved that we really are in this together.

“Edin Dzeko, all the players and Paulo have demonstrated they understand what this club stands for and we also thank them all for their superb gesture towards the employees at this club.”

Roma have not played since 1 March, just days before the Serie A season was postponed.

In a letter to Fienga, the players said: “We players are ready to start playing as soon as possible, giving the maximum to achieve our goals, but we also realise that all this will not be enough to face the economic consequences of the current emergency.

“With the hope of doing something that will help the company to better restart the Roma project that we all share, we offer this financial proposal.”

Italy currently has the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe, with more than 23,000 confirmed deaths.

Source – BBC News

Relations between the Blaugrana captain and the club are rumoured to be far from healthy, but his former team-mate does not believe he will leave.

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Cesc Fabregas is convinced that Lionel Messi will finish his career as a one-club man and retire at Barcelona.

The Argentine moved to Spain with Barca at the age of 13 and has been at Camp Nou ever since, breaking countless records as he has led one of the greatest teams in club history.

Recently, however, there have been murmurs that all is not well between Messi and the Catalans, with a move to Manchester City mooted for the summer prior to the Premier League side’s Champions League ban.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt in Fabregas’ mind that his former team-mate and close friend will bow out at Camp Nou.

“I speak with Messi and his idea has always been to end his career at Barcelona,” he told Cadena Cope.

“Many things can happen at a club but I am fully confident that his career will end at Barca.”

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated elite football for over a decade, but the time will come when both superstars choose to hang up their boot.

And out of a gaggle of potential successors, Fabregas sees Paris Saint-Germain‘s Kylian Mbappe as the most likely to follow in their footsteps.

“Cristiano is 35 and Leo is about to turn 33, they’re getting old,” he added.

“I would sign Mbappe, for his youth, talent, commitment and mentality. I would go for him to have him at his peak for the next 10 years.

“Then there are players like Neymar or [Erling] Haaland that are up there, but on talent, goalscoring ability and speed, Mbappe is a player that reminds me of [Thierry] Henry.

“I watched him from further back up the pitch and it was delightful how he would chase a long pass of yours into space.”

A Liga champion with Barcelona and Premier League winner during his Chelsea days, Fabregas is now at Monaco after moving to the principality in January 2019.

Real Madrid were one of the clubs interested in his signature at his peak, and it is a move he refuses to rule out – although it would be more likely on the bench rather than the pitch.

“You can never say never,” he said.

“As a player maybe that door is closed, but as a coach you might say it is different because you can train up to 30 teams in your career.

“The contracts are longer for players and as a coach you have more of a chance because you can get the sack two days in.”

Source – Goal.com

The former Barca and Man Utd star has never been shy of stating his opinion, as his Galaxy team-mates found out after one painful loss.

Photo by Katharine Lotze

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s former LA Galaxy team-mate Joao Pedro remembers the star’s stay in MLS as a turbulent time marked by frequent boasting and the odd light-hearted death threat.

The former Barcelona, PSG, Inter and Manchester United star spent two seasons stateside after leaving Old Trafford at the start of 2018.

Goals flowed for Ibrahimovic, who hit an incredible 52 in just 56 matches in the league, but results overall were disappointing as the Galaxy failed to progress past the Western Conference semis during his time at the club.

He is now back in Europe with AC Milan after agreeing a move in January, but memories of his stay will linger long in Los Angeles, as Joao Pedro can attest.

“We had an away clash against Houston Dynamo,” the midfielder, who is currently back in his native Portugal with Tondela on loan from the Galaxy, told Record.

“We went 1-0 up, they came back, we levelled at 2-2, in the last few minutes they scored to make it 3-2. At the end of the game [Zlatan] gave us a roasting.

“[He said] ‘Look, if you came here to go to the beach, walk around Hollywood, just say, but tell me now. I have 300 million in the bank, an island, I don’t need this at all.

“‘The first person to open their mouth I will kill him, I will really kill him.'”

Ibrahimovic’s elevated self-esteem is no secret in the world of football.

“I think I am the best ever to play in MLS. And that, without joking,” he pronounced in September after breaking the Galaxy’s season scoring record.

“I’m here to perform and show everybody what the game is about. I think the two years I’ve had here, I’ve done good things. Amazing things. Perfect things.”

And Joao Pedro recalls that even in training he always wanted to be the centre of attention.

“We were about to play a kickabout match, 11 against 11, and someone asked, ‘Who is kicking off?’ Our assistant said: ‘Joao Pedro, because it is his birthday today,'” he explained.

“Ibrahimovic turned to him and said: ‘Every day is my birthday. Give me the ball.’ And he laughed.”

Source – Goal.com

Women’s football faces “concrete risks” and could be hit much harder by coronavirus than the men’s game, world players’ union Fifpro has warned.

The 2019 Women’s World Cup reached a global audience of 1.12bn view

Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, Fifpro’s general secretary, is concerned investments in the women’s game may stall.

Women’s football saw widespread global growth in participation and attendances after 2019’s World Cup.

“It has been on an upward trend, but a positive trend can still be quite fragile,” Baer-Hoffmann said.

“We do see a threat that certain programmes will shut down or not see the same attention as before.

“The long-term consequences [of the pandemic] in terms of the equality and the diversity in our game could be much harder hit on the women’s side.”

He continued: “There are a couple of concrete risks. One is a stalling of the investment we’ve recently seen – we need to still keep building up investment in women’s football to sustain professional development.

“We’ve also seen the postponement of international tournaments. The women’s game still requires to have these big public events, like an World Cup, Olympics, Euros, because these events are massive platforms on which many players are building their careers.

“That’s because it’s the only international platform on which they’re seen by clubs who might be interested in their services afterwards.”

Unlike in the men’s game, women’s teams at the Olympics can select their first-choice senior national sides for the Games in Tokyo, which have been postponed until 2021.

‘We must build a common vision’

Fifpro released a paper on Thursday outlining the “existential threat” facing the women’s game because of the pandemic, with the average length of a player’s contract just over 12 months long.

“Now is the time to have this conversation about women’s football. Not in a couple of weeks or a couple of months, now,” said Fifpro’s chief women’s football officer Amanda Vandervort.

“We do have deep concerns about investments in the women’s game being reduced or withdrawn. Together the industry has to build a common vision. Together we’ll achieve sustainable growth.”

Baer-Hoffmann added that the vast majority of female athletes cannot afford to voluntarily take the kind of wage deductions or referrals that have been seen at high level of the men’s game, because of their low salaries.

On Tuesday, however, the England women’s team collectively made a donation to the NHS, supporting a scheme set up by men’s Premier League players.

Asked if she had friends in the game who were worried about losing their jobs, England striker Jodie Taylor said: “I don’t think anybody feels safe at this time.

“Nobody really knows how long this is going to last for. So as much as I believe our league and club here are being as transparent as they can, who knows what the future will bring.

“It’s a stressful reality and one that we’re all sitting back and waiting for. It’s very unknown.”

Source – BBC News

Uefa is working to plans that would see the Champions League final end the 2019-20 season on 29 August.

Liverpool, the Champions League holders, were knocked out of this season’s competition by Atletico Madrid

European football’s governing body will meet on 23 April for more discussions about how to complete a campaign which has been disrupted by coronavirus.

It is likely one decision will be to agree that leagues could finish early, although only with Uefa’s approval.

But the idea is still to finish the season as a whole at the end of August, with all outstanding games played.

That would mean the Champions League final taking place in Istanbul on 29 August, with the Europa League final in Gdansk three days earlier.

Two scenarios for getting to that situation are under consideration.

The first is to play the quarter-finals and semi-finals as two-legged matches as normal, in July and August.

The second would be for the games to be played as one-off fixtures after the end of the domestic seasons, potentially condensing the end of the competition into a week-long mini tournament.

Four of the eight Champions League quarter-finalists are already known, with Manchester City’s high-profile encounter with Real Madrid one of the ties still to be concluded.

In the Europa League, scheduling is more complicated because all eight last-16 second-leg ties are still to be played, with two matches, involving Spanish and Italian teams, yet to play the first legs.

Source – BBC News

The Red Devils captain has spoken on whether or not the players will be taking a salary cut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Photo by Getty Images

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire says he is in weekly discussions with the club over whether or not the players need to take a pay cut or defer their wages to help with the financial burden of Covic-19.

The club confirmed last week they would not be furloughing any of their circa-900 full time employees due to the pandemic ,and all will be paid a full wage.

Southampton became the first Premier League club to announce their players would be taking a wage deferral, and Goal understands that this has been discussed at United – among analysis of a number of different scenarios – but at the moment there are no plans for that to happen.

As club captain, Maguire has been involved with discussions between the players and the management as to what needs to be done to help in the current circumstances.

“First and foremost every club will be different. I’m having weekly discussion with the club about how we want to go forward and how we want to monitor it and that’s as much as we can say on behalf of our club,” Maguire told Sky Sports.

“We keep monitoring the situation weekly, and every week we will evaluate and see where we’re at and see if we need to do anything regarding pay cuts or deferrals. Every club will be different and I’m sure every club captain will be speaking to their club’s with regard to that.”

Premier League players were criticised by government minister Matt Hancock for not taking a wage cut during the pandemic, but hundreds of players have shown their commitment and dedicated to raising money for the National Health Service by forming #PlayersTogether, a collaborative charity to raise funds for the NHS.

The creation of the fund followed extensive talks among senior footballers across the country, including Maguire, over how they can best help their communities.

The England international has also made a donation of food packages to elderly people in his home town of Mosborough in South Yorkshire. The packages were delivered to residents over-70.

The United captain said: “My family and I hope that this provides a small comfort to people who might be struggling.”

Source – Goal.com