Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has warned that everything, including football, will be “downsized” as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Football across Europe is currently on suspension, with countries around the continent electing to halt their leagues in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
England’s leagues are set to return at the end of April, although it is looking increasingly likely that deadline will be extended sooner rather than later.
The financial repercussions of the ongoing pandemic are already being felt, with many clubs warning that they could fold as a result of lost revenue.
Indeed, several of the big clubs in Spain have already implemented wage cut rules to reduce costs and ensure they are not left in ruin by the situation.
Similar cost-cutting measures could be brought into place in England, and Ancelotti has warned there will need to be a reduction.
“I’m certain we’re all going to have to get downsized, starting with football,” the Everton boss told Corriere dello Sport.
“Today’s priority is health to limit the contagion. Everything else is secondary.
“When you start again when you finish, the dates, the promises, the hopes… believe me, I don’t care, in this moment and the last of my thoughts.
“The initial idea was to restart in May, but it’s out of the question that we can do it. I hear talk of salary cuts, suspension of payments. They seem to me to be untimely, untimely solutions.
“Soon the economy will change, and at all levels, television rights will be worth less.
“Players and coaches will earn less, tickets will cost less because people will have less money. Let’s prepare for a general decline.”
While the focus at the moment is limiting COVID-19 and it’s effect, conversations about football will have to be held sooner rather than later.
With the April deadline looking more and more unrealistic, it is likely the season will have to be played throughout the summer in the period that was designated for Euro 2020.
Of course, there will have to be time for the players to readjust given the extended break they currently find themselves in.
Some have suggested that it will take three weeks for players to acclimatise, but it seems Ancelotti won’t be expecting that at Everton.
“What matters now is to effectively counteract the virus, I repeat,” he added.
“Then, of course, if it’s possible to continue the season, well otherwise amen.
“It makes me laugh who insists on making speeches about the preparation time; there are even those who talk about three weeks of training.
“It’s bull****. It’s a joke, that of the preparation are a false myth. Who has three weeks available today?
“You complete one, and on day eight, you’re flying to the United States or the Orient.
“It’s game practice. The important thing is, if you set a date, it has to be the same for everyone.”
