Premier League
ARSENAL TOP EARNER, MESUT OZIL KICKS AGAINST WAGE CUT
Germany’s Mesut Ozil who is Arsenal’s biggest earner at £350,000 a week has resisted the club’s efforts to implement a squad-wide 12.5 per cent pay-cut.
Arsenal on Monday announced ‘a voluntary agreement with our first-team players, head coach and core coaching staff’ to cut salaries for a 12 month period.
However, there are as many as three players who are still to be totally convinced of the necessity to take total pay deductions, rather than deferrals, with Ozil understood to be one of those.
Individual talks are set to continue with Ozil, the club’s highest earner on £350,000-a-week, who has made it clear he may be willing to take a pay-cut in the future but wants to be sure of the full financial impact of the coronavirus before making a full informed decision.
Ozil, it is understood, is open to accepting a deferral worth more than the 12.5 per cent pay cut his team mates have taken. The Professional Footballers Association have advised players against taking cuts.
The German’s representative Dr Erkut Sogut declined to comment when contacted by Sportsmail on Monday night.
Arsenal were also contacted but refused to discuss the issue because they regard it as the players’ private business.
But speaking earlier this month Sogut said: ‘Deferral is an option but not to agree a cut today when the clubs may still make the same profit as last year.
ARSENAL’S TOP WEEKLY EARNERS
- Mesut Ozil – £350,000
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £200,000
- Alexandre Lacazette – £180,000
- Nicolas Pepe – £140,000
- David Luiz – £125,000
- Hector Bellerin – £110,000
‘What the exact financial impact is on the clubs, we can see three to six months later – but we can’t see it today.’
In announcing pay cuts on Monday, Arsenal have become the first club to agree total salary reductions, rather than deferrals.’
In an interview with the Athletic today, Sogut added: ‘It is not enough for a club to present a proposal to one member of the first team squad and then asked them to go to the rest of the squad an get their consent to do it. That is not how individual contract negotiations should take place.
‘A club may even ask a first team manager to negotiate with players and this may influence some, particularly younger players or those on the fringe who fear there might be personal repercussions for him if he does not agree.
‘In those circumstances it could be questionable that any consent from the players would be legally binding anyway as some players are not in a position to give true consent if they are under pressure to do so.’
Initially, as revealed by Sportsmail last Monday, players refused to accept pay cuts when presented with the proposal by the club’s PFA rep Hector Bellerin.
But manager Mikel Arteta, during talks with players last Wednesday, played a key role in sparking a change of heart in his squad.
Arsenal will repay the 12.5 per cent losses back to the players in full if they qualify for the Champions League in the next two season.
Players will receive 7.5 per cent back if they reach the Europa League but will have to swallow the full 12.5 per cent if they do not qualify for Europe.
‘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.’
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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