Gladbach players give up wages to help club during pandemic

Borussia Moenchengladbach's squad have offered to give up their wages to help the club's financial situation during the coronavirus pandemic, sporting director Max Eberl said on Thursday.

Gladbach are set to lose income from broadcasting, sponsorships and ticket sales during the COVID-19 outbreak with all Bundesliga matches suspended until at least April 2.

"The team has offered to forego salaries if it can help the club and its employees," Eberl told the club's website.

"I didn't have to explain much. The players know what's going on. It's their job, they have already informed themselves and thought about what they could do," he added.

Coaching staff and boss Marco Rose have also said they would go without their salaries.

According to media reports in Germany, the decision by the likes of captain Lars Stindl, forward Alassane Plea and goalkeeper Yann Sommer will allow the side sitting fourth in the table to save one million euros ($1.07 million).

On Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund's Hans-Joachim Watzke was criticised for saying the country's biggest clubs should refrain from financially helping the league's smaller outfits.

Professional sides in Germany depend heavily on the income from television rights with local broadcasters paying 4.6 billion euros over a four-year deal to show matches.

Gladbach played the league's last game before the outbreak-enforced break with a 2-1 behind closed doors win over Cologne on March 11.

The fixture held without fans at their Borussia Park reportedly cost the club around two million euros.