Espanyol request 70 percent pay cut for players during COVID-19 crisis

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Madrid, March 27, 2020 (AFP) - Espanyol have asked labour authorities in Catalonia to allow them to cut player and staff salaries by 70 percent while football is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the La Liga club said Friday.

The Barcelona-based outfit, who are bottom of La Liga, are among a raft of clubs set to take a huge financial hit due to the suspension of football in Spain, one of the countries worst hit by COVID-19.

"Due to the temporary suspension of the season and the current extraordinary situation, Espanyol have presented a plan of partial unemployment," the club said in a statement.

"The requested measure consists of a 70 percent reduction in working hours."

Espanyol said that the proposed reduction regards players and coaching staff from the men's and women's first teams, Espanyol B and youth teams, and was made "unilaterally for reasons of urgency".

City rivals Barcelona said on Thursday that they were cutting salaries -- although they did not specify who would be affected -- in order to stave off financial issues, with football in Spain suspended until further notice as the country joins Italy at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday the Spanish government announced that over 4,800 people have died in the country as a result of the virus after 769 people died in the previous 24 hours, a record one-day figure for fatalities in Spain.