Real Madrid’s players will be asked to take another pay cut as the club deals with the ongoing losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, sources have told ‘ESPN’.
The club are putting the finishing touches to this season’s budget, which will be finalized in the next few days, and will then present a proposal to the first team squad.
Sources told ‘ESPN’ the exact percentage of salaries that the players would be asked to give up had not yet been fixed.
When that figure is set, talks will be held with the club’s captains, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane.
In April, a first pay cut between 10% and 20% was agreed for players, coaching staff and top executives, while the club decided not to spend money on new signings during the summer transfer window.
The squad also agreed to give up bonuses they were owed for winning La Liga this summer.
Those measures helped protect the jobs of club workers and avoid the need for the club to implement temporary job losses, known in Spanish employment law as ERTE.
It remains to be seen how the players will respond to this latest proposal. Sources have told ‘ESPN’ that in principle they are sympathetic to the club’s situation.
The Real Madrid Board has had to work hard to adjust their planning and minimize the financial damage in the face.