Former Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher has revealed a number of players refused to donate a day’s wages to NHS nurses during his time at Anfield.
Premier League footballers have been put under the microscope this week after Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged them to ‘play their part’ with donations to the National Health Service.
That suggestion did not go down well with a number of players, as there’s already a clear appetite to make sizeable donations to aid the UK’s battle against coronavirus.
However, as yet, there has been no agreement on a uniformed pay cut at Premier League clubs.
Carragher believes that is down to the varying situations at different clubs and the former England defender says he experienced a similar situation in 2007 when he and Steven Gerrard approached the Liverpool squad over a scheme that would see Premier League footballers donate a day’s wages to nurses.
’10 or 15 years ago there was something from the NHS about nurses not getting enough pay and Premier League footballers donating a day’s wages to NHS nurses,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘Me and Steven Gerrard go into the dressing room with 20-odd players in there and some players refused to pay. There were four or five in our dressing room – I’m sure it was the same up and down the country – a lot of them were foreign players who couldn’t understand what they were paying for.
‘[They were asking] ‘Why nurses? Why not something else?’ I’ve got my own charities.’
‘It’s a lot bigger now and that’s why I said at the start you won’t get every Premier League club [agreeing]… everyone’s situation is different, everyone has a different owner.
‘It was different of course with a lot less money than we’re talking about now but the majority of us got it across the line and that’s the way I think it has to go. This is as i said, bigger funds involved and there are far bigger wages involved now but it has to go back to the club’.
Carragher was live on air as it was announced that Liverpool had reversed their decision to furlough around 200 non-playing staff.
The Reds took extreme criticism after they announced plans to place staff on a government job scheme and Carragher says he was embarrassed by their initial decision.
‘I’m delighted now they’ve changed their minds but i still think it will leave a bitter taste with a lot of Liverpool supporters,’ said Carragher.
‘What this did was it saved the club a few million pounds which is nothing, it cost the taxpayers a few million pounds which in the grand scheme of things isn’t the biggest amount ever but it embarrassed Liverpool supporters throughout the country.
‘Man City, Man Utd, Everton supporters, that’s all they’ve been getting all the time now, almost laughing at Liverpool. they’ve embarrassed themselves and their own supporters. I’m delighted they’ve changed their mind and i’m delighted they’ve seen sense’
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