Manchester United legend Roy Keane has fired back at criticisms of the Premier League’s top players for an apparent refusal to take a pay cut amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been singled out in recent days for reportedly not agreeing to lower his wages after a number of his team-mates voluntarily offered to give up 12.5 per cent of their salary.
That led to the German’s agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, reacting in defence of players that choose not to take a wage reduction, insisting that there needs to be more transparency from the club before footballers make such important decisions.
And Keane has echoed those sentiments, suggesting that the wealthy owners at some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs shouldn’t be looking at their highest earners to take pay cuts and that the responsibility falls primarily with those at the very top.
The former United midfielder told Sky Sports: “I’m not sure how I’d have dealt with it, I have a lot of sympathy for the players out there, a lot of players are getting criticised.