Manchester City have become the first Premier League club to confirm a commitment to paying its entire non-playing staff in full during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The move to avoid furloughing was agreed last week before being ratified at board level on Friday morning.
City’s chief operating officer Omar Berrada relayed the news to employees in writing over the weekend.
Five top-flight clubs have opted to furlough a proportion of their staff, with leaders Liverpool the latest and heavily criticised for taking advantage of the government’s job retention scheme.
City will take a significant financial hit over the coming weeks and months but Berrada told their workforce that there is a determination to protect jobs.
Those projected losses have been offset by American private equity firm Silver Lake’s £389million investment for just over 10 per cent of the City Football Group in November.
‘We can confirm, following a decision by the Chairman and Board last week, that Manchester City will not be utilising the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We remain determined to protect our people, their jobs and our business whilst at the same time doing what we can to support our wider community at this most challenging time for everybody.’
Like all other Premier League clubs, Pep Guardiola’s squad remain in discussions with the league and PFA over wage deferrals and how that money is eventually spent moving forward.
