Former star Danny Murphy slams ‘grotesque’ Liverpool for furloughing staff

Danny Murphy has slammed Liverpool and four other Premier League clubs as 'grotesque' after they decided to place some staff on furlough leave.

Liverpool have been widely criticised after they became the latest Premier League club to take advantage of the Government's job retention scheme, introduced to pay employees who are unable to work due to the coronavirus crisis.

The scheme, which is also being used by Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich, means non-playing staff will be paid 80% of their wages by the government up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.

But Premier League clubs have been slammed for using a scheme that was designed for businesses struggling due to the impact of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

And Murphy has laid into his former club Liverpool, who posted a pre-tax profit of £42m in February and increased turnover to £533m in 2018/19.

"It is grotesque because it wasn't introduced for Premier League clubs who have more than enough money to look after their own," said Murphy in his column for the Mail on Sunday.

"I'm particularly disappointed with the decision coming from Liverpool yesterday because it runs against the togetherness and unity the club has always been renowned for, particularly over the last 30 years since Hillsborough."

Former midfielder Murphy is confident the Premier league's multi-millionnaire footballers will be doing their bit to provide financial help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

The league has urged its stars to take a 30% pay cut – and Murphy says before accepting that, players should insist on knowing that the money generated will be going to the right places.

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