Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Coronavirus: Gary Neville suggests lower-league players should line up second jobs

‘If I was a football player today I would be online learning, I’d be getting a degree or a BTEC. I would be doing something different and trying to get a dual skill’

Thursday 23 April 2020 11:49 BST
Comments
Coronavirus: How has sport been affected?

Gary Neville believes footballers in the lower leagues would be wise to line up an alternative job in case the coronavirus pandemic impact on club finances leaves them out of work.

Players whose current contracts expire at the end of the June may find it very difficult to secure new deals with their existing clubs or other clubs. And Neville thinks it would be sensible for players to plan for what lies ahead in the coming months.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet with players and agents but it will do in two months’ time,” Neville told Sky Sports. “It’s going to be very difficult to secure contracts with football clubs in the next 18 months because clubs are going to find it very difficult to pay.

“If I was a football player today I would be online learning, I’d be getting a degree or a BTEC. I would be doing something different and trying to get a dual skill.

“That’s not panicking. That’s just good planning. The jobs in football are going to be less, the money is going to be less, and thousands of players are going to need to do a job next year or something out of football.

“They have to plan for that now. The smart ones will get their heads around that now because the clubs want real action. They want to reset the game.”

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in