Wenger advocates pay cuts

Arsene Wenger said on Friday football needs to tackle inflated player pay if it is to bounce back from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, saying "thousands" of clubs across Europe risk extinction.

Former Arsenal coach Wenger warned a reduction in wages was needed in the wake of the billions set to be lost due to the COVID-19 crisis, which forced the game into a months-long hiatus.

"We calculate it here that overall football will lose 20 percent of its income. Football makes, say, 45 billion turnover in the world -- the loss will be 10 to 14 billion," Wenger told beIN Sports.

"If you look at the wages structure in most of the clubs it's between 60 and 80 percent of the turnover. That means only the players wages can sort that problem out."

Wenger added the outbreak has made "the weak clubs weaker and the strong clubs stronger"