Sky Sports pundit concerned by Andrea Radrizzani financial admission about Leeds
David Prutton is worried by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani admitting how the postponement of the Championship season is hurting the club’s finances.
Leeds have been out of action since beating Huddersfield 2-0 on March 7 due to the coronavirus pandemic causing a shutdown of football almost all over the world.
In an interview with Gianluca Di Marzio this week, Radrizzani revealed that there are big financial implications of not being able to play any matches as they are a good way of bringing money into the club.
Worryingly, the Italian business called the economic impact of the pandemic on football a “disaster“.
Ex-Leeds player Prutton is concerned by Radrizzani’s comments but it is glad to see that the squad agreed defer their wages for the foreseeable future earlier this week.
“Andrea Radrizzani came out and mentioned how much the lack of matchday revenue is costing Leeds at the moment and that is where you start to worry about the impact it could potentially have on livelihoods,” the Sky Sports pundit wrote on the Yorkshire Evening Post website.
“Not just at Leeds, but across the game too.
“The focus has been on the footballers to take the lead and it reflects well on Leeds as a squad that they have deferred their wages with little fuss or fanfare.
“It feels like a move which in its very essence is what Leeds United stands for; one in, all in.”
It wouldn’t be a shock to see other clubs join Leeds in asking their players to take pay cuts and wage deferrals during these unprecedented times.
Clubs lower down the English football pyramid are bound to struggle the most as a lot of them rely heavily on matchday income whereas those at the top of the Championship also have bigger sponsorship deals and TV money to also rake in.
However players of those lower clubs may be less inclined to agree to a wage deferral because they don’t earn anywhere near as much as those who play for the likes of Leeds.
If it’s tough for Leeds then you can only imagine how difficult it is for clubs who weren’t in great financial health before all this happened.
In other Leeds United news, Barry Douglas has called this Leeds player a “dark horse”.