Tottenham Hotspur implement 20 per cent pay cut to non-playing staff: 'football cannot operate in a bubble'

Chairman Levy issued a statement revealing the wage reductions, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy announced the pay cuts in a statement. PA

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has revealed that 550 non-playing staff have taken a 20 per cent pay cut to counter the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Levy said in a statement the move was to protect jobs and the club planned to use a government furlough scheme where appropriate.

Levy also said that he hopes talks between the Premier League and players' and managers' associations would result in players and managers "doing their bit for the football eco system".

"When I read or hear stories about player transfers this summer like nothing has happened, people need to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us," Levy said.

"With over 786,000 infected, [more than] 38,000 deaths and large segments of the world in lockdown we need to realise that football cannot operate in a bubble.

"We may be the eighth largest club in the world by revenue according to the Deloitte survey but all that historical data is totally irrelevant as this virus has no boundaries."

Levy said Tottenham's operations had effectively ceased, some fans had lost their jobs and sponsors were concerned about their businesses.

Meanwhile, the Premier League club still had an annual cost base running into hundreds of millions of pounds.

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Major European clubs to introduce pay cuts for players

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Other major European clubs have also moved to reduce their costs with countries in lockdown to combat the spread of the virus.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus are among those to have cut player and staff wages to reduce costs.

"I have no doubt we will get through this crisis but life will take some time to get back to normal," said Levy. "Many families will have lost loved ones, many businesses will have been destroyed, millions of jobs lost and many clubs whether big or small may struggle to exist.

"It is incumbent on me as chairman to ensure we do everything we can to protect our employees, our fans, our partners, our club for future generations."