Even as Premier League clubs are facing pressure over their reluctance to compromise with their high wages in the times of the coronavirus crisis, England manager Gareth Southgate has taken a 30 per cent pay cut.

Southgate is one of the Football Association’s highest earners that have collectively agreed to the cut.

According to The Times, London, Southgate will sacrifice £225,000 of salary over the next three months. Southgate’s annual salary as manager of the England men’s team is £3 million.

Other England team managers, Phil Neville and Aidy Boothroyd, will also be affected by wage reductions of between 15 and 30 per cent.

As part of the FA’s plan to make savings due to potential £150 million losses, senior management figures will take cuts to protect the salaries of the lower-paid staff.

Though The Times, London, claimed that other staff at the FA, which is a not-for-profit organisation, are expected to be placed on furlough, Sky Sports reported that the association is considering the government scheme as a “contingency plan”.

FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Mark Bullingham are likely to each take a 25 per cent reduction. Neville, head coach of the England women’s team, is understood to be among those who will have a 15 per cent cut. FA staff earning more than £50,000 will take a 7.5 per cent reduction.

“We want to take prudent and appropriate steps to help protect and support the FA and our employees,” FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement. The FA also said it “continues to plan for the return of football, once it is safe to do so”.

The move comes after a week when Premier League players came under increasing political pressure to take a pay cut. On Saturday afternoon, the Premier League met with all clubs, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and League Managers Association (LMA) in a conference call to discuss potential wage deductions or deferrals.

After that call, the PFA said Premier League players are prepared to make “significant financial contributions”.

Among the Premier League clubs, Manchester United players have announced a donation of 30 per cent of their wages to hospitals, health services, while Manchester City have said that they will not be opting for the government’s furlough scheme. League leaders Liverpool have faced a lot of criticism for placing members of non-playing staff on furlough.

In Spain, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid players have agreed to pay cuts of 70 per cent.

Fifa move

Fifa on Monday urged clubs and players to reach agreement on taking wage reductions in order to protect clubs who are suffering financial damage, sources at world football’s governing body said.

It also recommended that players’ contracts be extended until the end of the interrupted football seasons and that the transfer window should not open until that time.