Bayer Leverkusen players, staff and management unanimously agreed of accepting an unspecified pay cut on Wednesday as the Bundesliga still remains suspended due to the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.
The captain of the squad Lars Bender stated that discussions took place in the last few weeks and on Tuesday they came to an agreement. "The team is ready to waive part of the salaries in order to support the club in its efforts to financially overcome the corona crisis," Bender stated in a statement released by the club after a makeshift training session where the players trained in pairs.
Leverkusen players to get a pay cut
Team training cannot resume before April 5. "We again got a very concrete idea in the empty BayArena stadium today about how important the various colleagues are in breathing life into the club and how important each and every one of them is in providing us with ideal conditions to do our job."
Play in the Bundesliga has been suspended since mid-March and the German Football League (DFL) on Tuesday extended the league suspension until at least April 30. The DFL has also hinted that should play resume in the coming weeks or months, it would most likely be without spectators.
(With agency inputs)
