Atletico Madrid have announced that their players will take a 70 per cent pay cut in order to support the club’s non-playing staff amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The move follows that of La Liga rivals Barcelona, whose first team also accepted wage cuts of 70 per cent this week.
The cut to Atletico players’ wages will help to support 430 non-playing employees. The cut also affects women’s first-team players, players at the club’s B team, and the coaching staff for all three teams concerned.
A statement on Atletico’s website read: “The cessation of activity that has meant the declaration of the state of Alarm in Spain as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis has caused Atlético de Madrid to have to study measures to safeguard the club’s economic viability.
“Due to this complicated situation, and always with the aim of guaranteeing the entity’s future, the club has made the decision to present a Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE).
“The staff and coaching staff of the men’s first team understand the need for the club to present the aforementioned ERTE, respect its conditions and assume the consequent economic impact on their income.
“All the members of the first team have signed an internal agreement with the entity that defines two different scenarios depending on the final configuration of this 2019/20 season. The file will mean a 70% reduction in the salaries of technicians and players of the men’s first team, the women’s first team and Atlético de Madrid B, while the declaration of the state of Alarm lasts.
“The agreement reached with the first team will also allow supplementing the salary of 430 employees affected by the ERTE, a complement from which only players and technicians from professional teams are excluded. To make this possible, the first squad will contribute half the necessary amount and the members of the club’s Management Committee, made up of the CEO and the directors of the different areas, the other half.”
La Liga, like most leagues in Europe, has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
