Premier League captains have held discussions about coming together to generate a fund that would be devoted to help the NHS in their fight against Covid-19.
Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s skipper, was instrumental in getting the talks off the ground but all his contemporaries — including Everton’s Seamus Coleman — have been heavily involved in finding a solution.
Top-flight footballers found themselves plunged into the spotlight on Thursday night when Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, called on them to ‘play their part’ and take pay cuts with the nation in the midst of a financial crisis.
His comments, however, were greeted with fury by players up and down the country. Many believe Hancock spoke without any knowledge of their situations and took a chance to divert the spotlight away from the Government.
Sportsmail understands that talks between the captains began in the middle of last week. The PFA have also been consulted and the ambition was for players to make donations that would raise millions of pounds for the NHS.
Talks accelerated at the beginning of this week and Henderson, England’s vice-captain, had personally spoken to someone from each of the other 19 clubs to discuss ideas and find out about certain financial situations.
The pool, if it can get off the ground, would be made up of voluntary contributions and there is no set limit on what should be donated.
The potential is there for a significant amount to be generated, given the wages that players earn. Contact with banks has been established to set up the fund.
Henderson does not want to take any credit for this proposal and he was frustrated yesterday afternoon when details first emerged in a report by The Times. He simply wanted to use what influence he has to support the NHS.
The Premier League have asked players to take a 30 per cent pay cut but it should be noted that cutting wages also means the high contributions that players make to income tax and National Insurance will be cut — meaning less money, potentially, goes to the NHS.
Talks are expected to continue next week to find the right solution.