Former England, Real Madrid and AC Milan manager Fabio Capello has encouraged footballers to actively support their local communities during the coronavirus crisis, but he says he isn’t sure they should accept wage cuts.
The debate over wage cuts for footballers has made headlines in recent weeks.
While cutting or deferring wages could help clubs survive the financial hardships of the pandemic, players would also end up paying less in taxes as their income decreased.
Capello is seemingly of the opinion that players would do more good by using their wages to invest in communities and help others through the crisis.
"There has been a big debate in many countries about whether footballers should agree to take pay cuts at this time,” Capello told Laureus, the global organisation of which he is a member.
"I am not sure about pay cuts, as that involves the clubs, but I do believe that top professional footballers, who earn so much money today, should realise how lucky they are and give support to people in their local communities at this terrible time.
“This isn't just about money; it's about giving time, the benefit of their status and celebrity and being active members of society."
The issue has been a contentious one for football fans. Mesut Ozil was criticised by many for his reported decision not to agree to a 12.5 per cent wage cut at Arsenal, but the Germany international has since contributed to providing 60,000 facemasks to help contain the spread of the virus in Sierra Leone.
The initiative was led by Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger and backed by a number of his team-mates, and the Blues announced on Saturday that players wouldn’t be expected to take wage cuts.
Capello, meanwhile, also pointed to specific ways players could help, using the examples of fellow Laureus Academy members Alessandro Del Piero and Ryan Giggs.
"Del Piero is raising funds for the Italian Red Cross and is planning to bring together the 2006 Italy World Cup winning team to play in a fundraiser," he said.
"Ryan Giggs, the manager of Wales, has offered rooms in hotels he owns in Manchester for use by health workers.
"These are very good and imaginative examples of how football individuals and teams can do good and show that sport cares.
"It is the local communities which keep football teams alive and pay television subscriptions which have made the sport so profitable and the players so wealthy.
"What is so frustrating is that we cannot see this enemy. It is there, it is attacking us, but we can only fight back in an indirect way."