Mesut Ozil’s agent Dr Erkut Sogun thinks Premier League players should turn down the proposed 30 percent pay cut being mooted by their clubs and believes agents should be involved in talks.
Discussions are currently ongoing to try to resolve how elite footballers should help out amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, with some of the opinion that a pay cut may not benefit society as it would result in a loss of tax revenue for the NHS.
Sogut – who helped negotiate Ozil’s eye-watering £350,000-a-week contract with Arsenal – said in a Football Business Academy webinar that a deferral of payments may be the way forward.
(Image: Mesut Ozil/Instagram)
“It is not easy for everyone but it’s time for the clubs to talk directly to the players and their representatives to solve this problem,” Sogut said.
“This is what we are lacking right now. And the one thing that can be done is a deferral.
“That is a start, to say, ‘Let’s defer these payments to the end of the year or next year’.
“That is something players and clubs can agree quickly, so the clubs know they will have no cash problems and go on for the next three months. A deferral is a protection for everyone.”
Sogun also thinks agents must be consulted as everyone tries to find a solution as quickly as possible.
(Image: REUTERS)
“Talks are ongoing but we agents have been left out. We are not playing a part,” he added.
“However, whatever happens in the end will have to go through to us. The most important thing is to be fair, transparent and honest.
“I wouldn’t recommend agreeing a cut today because I don’t know tomorrow if the league will be played, if clubs will get TV and sponsorship money.
“What the exact financial impact is on the clubs, we can see three to six months later — but we can’t see it today.”
