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LONDON — Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is bemused as to why he remains a constant source of criticism despite missing most of the campaign through injury.

The 27-year-old has been restricted to just eight appearances this season due to a persistent ankle injury.

Former Liverpool captain and manager Graeme Souness has been one of the most outspoken critics of Pogba since he returned to United from Juventus for a then world record £89 million ($112 million) fee in 2016.

However, Pogba claimed he did not even know who Souness was.

"I didn't even know who he was, really," Pogba told the official Manchester United podcast. "I heard he was a great player and stuff like that. I know the face but [not] the name.

"Like I said I'm not someone that watches a lot of [punditry], I watch a lot of football but I don't stay after the game to listen to what they say about why they did this, or why they did that. I like to focus on football."

Souness — who won three European Cups, and five league titles as a player at Liverpool — responded to Pogba on Tuesday morning.

"I'm happy with that. The oldest saying in football comes to mind: 'Put your medals on the table'. I've got a big table," the former Scottish international told Sky Sports.

Pogba's return to Old Trafford has failed to match the expectations of his price tag despite winning the Europa League and League Cup in his first season under Jose Mourinho.

A bitter fall out with Mourinho followed in the next two seasons before the Portuguese was sacked in December 2018.

And after a brief hot streak when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge, Pogba's time under the Norwegian has been beset by a lack of form and fitness.

However, the French World Cup winner still believes the criticism he has received, particularly in his absence this season, is unjustified.

"It's good to hear good stuff instead of bad stuff but when you play football, you know yourself. It's what your manager and teammates want, the rest is just talk," added Pogba.

"I guess they [the critics miss me, I don't know? I'm not someone that looks always at Sky Sports News.

"When you know football, you don't need someone to tell you what's happening.

"One day maybe I will meet them and ask them because I really want to know, why?"

PARIS — The Tour de France is not only a French monument, but also the economic heartbeat of professional cycling itself and analysts fear heavy consequences if the coronavirus crisis forces its cancellation.

An announcement is expected this week on either a postponement or an outright cancellation of the 21-day extravaganza that is currently scheduled to start in Nice on June 27.

The "Grande Boucle", as the Tour is known in France, is the central economic pillar which supports the 22 professional teams on the roster for 2020.

"Cancellation opens the door to a possible economic meltdown in the cycling sector," says Jean-Francois Mignot of the French National Centre for Scientific Research., who has written the book "A History of the Tour de France".

Maintaining the original dates looks unlikely with France under lockdown since March 17. More than 14,000 people have died from coronavirus in France.

Usually, up to 12 million fans line the roads as the Tour makes its way through the French countryside and towns and cities for three weeks every summer.

"It's as simple as this. If the Tour does not take place, teams could disappear, riders and staff alike would find themselves unemployed," said Marc Madiot, the chief of top French outfit Groupama-FDJ.

His team budget is estimated at 20 million euros ($21.8 million) per year and is bankrolled by the state lottery and an insurance company.

Tour rolls on advertising revenue

Tour de France organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) paid 2.3 million euros in total prize money on the 2019 edition, won by Ineos' Colombian rider Egan Bernal who picked up a cheque for 500,000 euros.

The Tour rakes in revenue but the giant cost of staging the event, featuring logistics that are as spectacular as any mountainside showdown on two wheels, eat into the margins of all road races.

Sponsors are paying hard cash for the daily hours-long television coverage and even the smallest teams can get involved in a breakaway and hence command screen time.

There are ceremonies every day on the Tour de France for all kinds of prizes — sprinting, climbing, attacking, young riders — where sponsors' names are prominent.

"Most sponsors are in cycling for this reason alone, the whole thing is centred around the Tour de France," Mignot claimed.

"If these sponsors invest money it is because television viewers recognise the team jerseys, it is the only cycling race watched by such a vast audience."

"There are very few other sports with so much riding on one event," explains Bruno Bianzina, the general manager of the agency Sport Market.

Mignot estimated that ASO's Tour revenue has climbed from five million euros in the mid-80s to 50 million today.

Another group, Sporsora, put the turnover for the 2019 Tour de France at 130 million euros.

Some 40-50 per cent comes from sponsors, television rights make up around half, and host regions of the race also contribute around five per cent.

This would make up more than half the turnover ASO declared in 2018, which according to Infogreffe.fr was 233.5 million euros.

ASO did not reply to questions from AFP.

'Props up cycling'

"The Tour de France props up the whole of cycling, but the Tour needs the rest of the cycling calendar too," says Madiot, a two-time winner of the Paris-Roubaix one-day race.

Even the smallest sponsor pays 250,000 euros to ASO while it is estimated that the yellow jersey sponsor, the LCL bank, pay 10 million euros.

"But it goes much deeper than that because the Tour de France is also a huge advert for France and French tourism," Bianzina says.

MADRID — Ada Hegerberg's voice in football is a powerful one given she claimed the first ever women's Ballon d'Or, owns four Champions League titles with Lyon and has earned her place among the finest female players on the planet, all by the age of 24.

Hegerberg's talent is matched too by a fearlessness in standing up for the rights of her gender in her sport.

She refused to play for Norway at last year's World Cup due to perceived inequality with the men's team and drew widespread praise after collecting her Ballon d'Or in 2018, having refused to indulge a request that she 'twerk' on stage.

Yet even for one of the game's most successful players, the sprawling effects of the coronavirus pandemic bring doubt. "It's a strange situation for everyone," Hegerberg says in a telephone interview with AFP. "Everything is uncertain."

Unable to see her husband in Poland or her family in Norway, Hegerberg is confined to her apartment in the French city of Lyon, where she is recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament injury she suffered in January.

She has an exercise bike, physios, who visit but maintain the health measures in place, and history books. "I'm reading Ken Follett at the moment — history in the 13th century, it takes your mind off things a bit," she says.

Fight for prominence

But Hegerberg is concerned about the future too and she is adamant the women's game must not be forgotten in football's fight for survival.

"It's very, very important women's football doesn't lose position," Hegerberg says. "Obviously men's football is in first place, with all the questions about money and when leagues will restart, but it is very important women's football pushes for position as well.

"We will be sitting in the second row in all of this but we can't fade into the background."

Most women's teams in Europe operate at a financial loss, relying instead on the profits of men's sides until progress allows them to support themselves.

But football's economic crash as a result of coronavirus means nothing is guaranteed.

Financial struggle

With even the world's biggest clubs taking measures to avoid extinction, the fear is staff, players and even teams on the women's side will be deemed expendable.

"Women's football is still in its beginning phase and we have to push for the same rights, whatever gets decided, and we have to push for the same changes we were pushing for before," says Hegerberg.

"We also need men's football to be stable so we have our position and get that financial help before we can support ourselves.

"If you see how the biggest men's clubs are struggling, you can only imagine how this is going to affect women's teams."

Players have come under pressure to help clubs and their lower-earners through wage cuts but blanket agreements have proven difficult to achieve.

Lyon are yet to confirm reductions but Hegerberg, whose reported 400,000-euro ($440,000) annual salary puts her among the highest earners in the women's game, insists players are ready to help.

"We are in discussions at the moment but for me, as an individual player, I'll do whatever is necessary to help the club," she says.

"We can all make a difference. We all have our own opinions but my view is, 'how we can help?' I can't speak for all clubs but players want to make sure we come out of this. Crises can create solidarity too."

Lyon were three points clear at the top of the French women's Division 1 when the action was halted. The shame for the sport overall was that the pandemic developed just as women's football was hitting its stride, with record crowds turning out across Europe in the slipstream of the 2019 World Cup.

The danger is momentum will be lost. "Of course there is that danger, there have been a lot of positive things happening in recent months and we have to keep pushing for it, now more than ever, because it won't happen by itself," says Hegerberg.

"It's very hard to say where women's football will be in weeks, months or even years, the uncertainty is everywhere right now. It would be a shame to cancel the season, absolutely, we all want to be doing what we used to do.

"But there are so many other parts of society at risk at the moment, it's hard for me to say 'we have to start the league again'. We have to sit still. We just have to make sure we are ready."

WASHINGTON — One year after Tiger Woods reignited his chase for golf's record 18 major wins with an amazing Masters victory, the coronavirus pandemic has become the latest obstacle to his historic chase.

Woods would have been defending his 15th career major title and seeking a record-tying sixth green jacket this week at Augusta National had the deadly virus outbreak not halted sports worldwide.

"Somehow it all came together for one magical week," Woods said in February. "Just an amazing week."

But this year's 84th Masters was postponed to November 12-15, the British Open was cancelled, the US Open was delayed from June to September and the PGA Championship was moved from May to August.

"There are a lot more important things in life than a golf tournament right now," Woods tweeted last month. "We need to be safe, smart and do what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our community."

Woods electrified Augusta last April with his first final-round comeback major triumph, his first major title since 2008 putting him three shy of the all-time record set by Jack Nicklaus.

"He's got me shaking in my boots," Nicklaus said last April.

Woods, 44, will have plenty of rest time for his surgically repaired back before a November Masters and even a bit more rest from the PGA Championship to the US Open if both are played as now scheduled.

"I have to listen to my body and properly rest when needed," Woods tweeted in March.

But Father Time is a growing factor. Only eight men have won a major beyond their 44th birthday, none more than once.

Nicklaus is the most recent with his 1986 Masters triumph at 46 while the late Julius Boros was the oldest major winner at 48 at the 1968 PGA.

"One of the hardest things to accept as an older athlete is that you're not going to be as consistent as you were at 23," Woods said in July.

"I'm going to have my hot weeks. I'm going to be there in contention with a chance to win and I will win. But there are times when I'm just not going to be there."

Woods yearns for Tokyo

Meanwhile, a host of rivals are in their prime, including Rory McIlroy, who can complete a career Grand Slam at an autumn Masters.

"I think this scheduling will be to Rory's favour," Nicklaus told Golf Channel. "He seems to play better in the fall. He has won the Tour Championship a couple times, played in (nearby) Atlanta, very similar conditions."

Woods is 11th in the world golf rankings, and just seventh among Americans. Only the top four will qualify for the US 2021 Tokyo Olympics squad.

"Olympic gold medal would be a hell of a feat," Woods has said. "First I need to qualify. It would be exciting if I got a chance to represent the United States in the Olympic Games."

In coming years, Woods would see courses besides Augusta National where he has won majors before, including the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines, a layout where his eight titles include the 2008 US Open, and the British Open in 2022 at St. Andrews, where Woods has twice won the Claret Jug.

His first chance to pass Boros as the oldest major winner could be the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla, where Woods won the 2000 PGA.

Woods's fifth Masters green jacket completed a fairy-tale comeback for the superstar who underwent spinal fusion surgery in April of 2017.

"I could barely walk. I couldn't sit. Couldn't lay down. I really couldn't do much of anything," Woods said of the decision to have surgery. "I had the procedure on my back, which gave me a chance at having a normal life. Then all of a sudden, I realised I could actually swing a golf club again."

'Took a lot out of me'

But after his Masters win Woods missed the cut at the PGA and British and was 21st at the US Open.

"Getting myself into position to win the Masters, it took a lot out of me," Woods acknowledged.

By November, Woods was on form again, winning the Zozo Championship in Japan for his 82nd career US PGA Tour title, matching Sam Snead's all-time record.

In December, player-captain Woods led a US victory at the Presidents Cup in Australia. A month later he shared ninth at Torrey Pines.

But he slid to 68th at Riviera in February in his most recent start, back pain preventing him from playing in the Players Championship, which was halted after 18 holes by virus concerns.

PARIS — For the Tour de France, one of the last of the summer's major sports events still standing in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the stop-watch is ticking.

While the Tokyo Olympics, the Euros, tennis and golf majors and the Giro d'Italia have already been postponed or even cancelled, the Tour is still scheduled to start on June 27.

Christian Prudhomme, the Tour director, made clear that before the race he wants "two months of exposure for the riders."

That means training rides and races and with most prospective competitors confined, the chances of their getting back on the road by late April look slim.

The race also needs France to end its lockdown, not just so the riders can ride but because the Tour attracts 10 to 12 million spectators who stand by the roads to watch.

Last week, when he announced the postponement of the Dauphine, an eight-day Tour warm-up stage race in the southeast of France due to start on May 31, Prudhomme said: "The most important word in Tour de France is France, and health concerns come first."

The situation across Europe suggests that a postponement is increasingly likely.

Prudhomme is not prepared to discuss alternative plans in public, but he told AFP last week: "As of today, the dates of the Tour de France are maintained. But it would be a lie to say that we are not studying other hypotheses."

Banned fans

Behind the scenes, AFP has learned, the organisers have sounded out cycling teams as well as French politicians and broadcasters about a postponement to August.

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu talked of banning spectators. But the idea seems to have died.

The Tour is fuelled by its fans and it would be hard to prevent people coming out of their houses when the race passes by.

Welshman Geraint Thomas, the winner in 2018, and Julian Alaphilippe, France's hero of the 2019 Tour after wearing the leader's jersey for 14 days, used almost identical words.

"Without the fans, it wouldn't be the Tour de France," was how Thomas put it.

Many politicians from towns along the route have echoed the sentiment.

The Tour is a festive and symbolic event.

Raphael Geminiani, who raced the Tour in 1947, said if the Tour went ahead it could bring France back to life.

"This period of confinement will hurt our morale for some time. We will need a cure and a Tour de France would help give us a sense of stability," the 94-year-old told French sports daily L'Equipe.

For the sport, the Tour is a priority both financially and for the visibility it offers.

"The Tour represents around 60 per cent of earnings in a season," French team AG2R boss Vincent Lavenu said.

Some are even prepared to contemplate the worst.

Bernard Hinault, a five-time winner of the event, told an affiliate of Radio France: "250 races around the world have been cancelled. So why not the Tour de France?"

The fallout would be international.

"Without the Tour de France, cycling would have a very big problem," Ralph Denk, boss of the German Bora team, told German daily Die Welt.

Patrick Lefevere, the head of the Deceuninck team, faced with the reduction in investment from his main sponsor, agreed.

"If the Tour were not to be raced, it would be a hard blow that [Tour organisers] ASO could probably absorb, but not the teams," he told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. "It could bring down the whole model on which our sport is built."

MIAMI — Reigning Masters champion Tiger Woods had a relaxed dinner with loved ones on Tuesday instead of the Masters Champions Dinner he was once scheduled to host Tuesday at Augusta National.

The Masters has been postponed to November by the coronavirus pandemic, with Woods, a 15-time major winner and five-time Masters champion, among those staying home to try and slow the spread of the deadly virus.

So instead of hosting past Masters winners at Augusta National, Woods had a meal at his South Florida home and tweeted a photo of himself with his "guests" — girlfriend Erica Herman, his daughter Sam and his son Charlie.

"Masters Champions Dinner quarantine style. Nothing better than being with family," Woods tweeted.

Woods was wearing his Masters green jacket with a red shirt, his typical final-round shirt, and the Masters champion's trophy, a replica of the course's famed clubhouse, on the table in front of him.

Food was only seen at the edges of the photo but it looked to be the same meal Woods said in February that he planned to serve at the Champions Dinner.

"Being born and raised in SoCal [Southern California], having fajitas and sushi was a part of my entire childhood," Woods said of his menu plans in a Masters conference call.

"I'm going back to what I had in 2006. So we'll have steak and chicken fajitas, and we'll have sushi and sashimi out on the deck, and I hope the guys will enjoy it."

There was no sign of another treat Woods had put on a prior menu — milkshakes. He included those in 1998, the year after his first Masters and major win, to wash down his menu selection of cheeseburgers.

"I'm debating whether or not to have milkshakes as deserts because that was one of the most great memories — to see Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead having milkshakes that night in '98."

With the Masters rescheduled for November 12-15, Woods could have the chance to host a true Champions Dinner at Augusta National on November 12.

Woods, 44, has not played since February, when he finished 82nd at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He skipped the Players Championship due to a back injury.

"There are a lot more important things in life than a golf tournament right now," Woods tweeted last month after the PGA Tour shut down due to the deadly virus outbreak.

"We need to be safe, smart and do what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our community."

BERLIN — With the top clubs in the Bundesliga already back in training, envious rivals across Europe are watching to see whether the Germans gain an edge or pay a price when play resumes.

Europe's top leagues are desperate to return to competition to avert financial disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic, but if they move too fast they could risk injuring their players. Moving too slow also comes at a cost.

In addition to the injury worry, when to resume training presents a problem of fairness, if some clubs can resume sooner than others it could distort competition and produce "crazy" results.

The issue has come up in Germany where, in line with an earlier recommendation by the German football league, Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and second-place Borussia Dortmund and a raft of other clubs resumed training in small groups on Monday. The Bundesliga hopes to return in early May, having ground to a halt in mid-March.

"We have to combine two central goals, namely to keep the players in a very good condition and at the same time avoid possible infections", Martin Przondziono, the Paderborn sports director, told SID, AFP's German subsidiary.

RB Leipzig had continued with non-contact training throughout and Augsburg resumed on March 23. By Monday, only Freiburg and Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga clubs had not resumed.

Werder Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt, unable to train his squad because of local regulations, told SID he was worried about "distortion of competition".

In an interview published on Friday, Carlo Ancelotti, the veteran Italian manager, now in charge at Everton, emphasised that point.

"One of the important things is that all the clubs resume training at the same time, that there are no disparities, that no one has an advantage over the others," the 60-year-old Italian told L'Equipe.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann of RB Leipzig is already putting his players through their paces.

"My players haven't lost too much fitness," Nagelsmann said. "They'll be back in shape in a week and a half or two."

The question of how long players need to safely regain match fitness will face all of Europe's top clubs after the unprecedented mid-season interruption.

"It depends on how long they are confined," Spanish coach Juanjo Del Ojo, a fitness trainer at Monaco in French Ligue 1, told AFP.

"If it lasts five or six weeks, we would need a minimum of three weeks before we can return to the competition with certainty and reduce the risk of injury."

'Really weird'

Xavier Frezza, an independent coach who works with French professional footballers, told AFP "players have never experienced this in their entire lives.

"A pro player only has a three- to four-week break in the summer, and many of them still do a few things," he added.

"Two months is going to be really weird for them."

"Some studies have shown a correlation between the number of full training sessions before resuming competition and a reduction in injuries," he said.

For the players, self-discipline during the lockdown will play a big role.

Those who have kept in shape and avoided weight gain will come back much better than those who have not.

That explains why Bayern Munich introduced compulsory group training by video conference from the first day of confinement, maintaining a rhythm and team peer pressure.

The risks are all the greater as any resumption will bear no resemblance to the pre-season, when the pace picks up gradually.

The clubs will have to complete the high-pressure part of the season playing twice a week at home and in Europe.

'A big difference'

This raises the question of whether clubs that start training first will have an advantage over those that have been confined for longer.

"A week's difference, when you don't even have three weeks of preparation, physically and technically it can make a big difference," said Frezza.

Former Borussia Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl suspects some "crazy" results if and when the league resumes after the forced hiatus.

"My guess is that the results will be more unpredictable, there will be movement in the table with the odd surprise or two," the 40-year-old, part of Dortmund's management team, told Monday's edition of German magazine Kicker. 

BARCELONA — Spanish superclub Barcelona's colossal cash turnover is under the spotlight after the football lockdown slashed the earnings that enabled them to pay over 600 million euros ($647M) per year to staff.

Barcelona's motto is 'More than a club', and fans around the globe tune in to thrill at the hugely successful side spearheaded by Argentine genius Lionel Messi.

But as broadcasting rights for the lucrative Spanish domestic La Liga and the European Champions League have become compromised, the club has had some delicate economic manoeuvring to do.

Not least of these was persuading sensitive star players on huge contracts to take voluntary wage cuts.

European football administrators do not allow for wages above 70 per cent of a club's earnings, with the Catalan outfit sitting was officially around 68 per cent.

The wage budget for the current season was 642 million euros with expected earnings estimated at just over 1 billion euros in the pre-season budget presented by the club last July.

"We clearly won't manage to earn what we had been expecting to," Barcelona president Josep María Bartomeu admitted this week.

The club are not only deprived of match-day revenue from 11 domestic games, but all the merchandising that goes with it.

The Spanish sports press this week reported Barcelona could lose 48 million euros in gate receipts and a further 84 million in television rights.

"There has been a huge drop in income and we are trying to compensate this with the reduction of player salaries and all other employees including all our executives," Bartomeu told Catalan sports daily El Mundo Deportivo.

A project to refurbish the club's spectacular Nou Camp home has also been put on ice.

Rumblings of discontent

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi announced a week ago that Barca's players had agreed to a 70 per cent pay cut.

The players also proposed to make contributions to ensure the club's non-playing staff could be paid in full during the state emergency in Spain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcing the agreement, the usually silent Messi directed a thinly veiled swipe at the Barca board, whom he accused of undermining the players during recent negotiations.

His lengthy Instagram post was shared by a slew of teammates, including Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez who lashed out last week after it was revealed the players had initially baulked at the idea.

"We hadn't come to an agreement because we were waiting to find the best solution for the club, and to our benefit and trying to help the employees," Suarez told a radio station in his native Uruguay.

Bartomeu says the cuts look drastic on paper but that once observed closely are less severe.

"From the word go, we wanted an agreement, not something that was imposed," Bartomeu says.

"We came to a flexible agreement conditioned to the number of days the crisis lasts.

"In total the wage cuts will make 16 million euros savings per month. If the lockdown lasts one month, it will be a reduction of 5.75 per cent of the annual salary bill. If it lasts 45 days, it will be 8.6 per cent and if it lasts two months, which we believe not, 11.5 per cent."

The rest of Barcelona's staff have been put on partial unemployment.

"Because we are a huge earner we look like we have been hit harder, but once this is over we will be up and running faster too," Bartomeu says.

LONDON — Wayne Rooney has criticised the government and the Premier League for placing footballers in a "no-win situation" over proposed pay cuts after players were urged to make sacrifices during the coronavirus crisis.

The former England captain, now playing with Championship side Derby, penned an impassioned column in the Sunday Times saying his fellow professionals were "easy targets" in the wider response to the pandemic.

It came after the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said a proposed 30 per cent pay cut could hurt the National Health Service because it would hit tax receipts.

Rooney said he had both the means and the will to make financial contributions, either in the form of salary reductions or direct donations to the NHS, but felt the public pressure being exerted on players was unhelpful.

The Premier League's suggested strategy involving a combination of pay cuts and deferrals amounting to 30 per cent of wages, was discussed in a conference call with players' and managers' representatives on Saturday.

Initial talks were already taking place before key political figures, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, called for action.

"If the government approached me to help support nurses financially or buy ventilators I'd be proud to do so — as long as I knew where the money was going," wrote Rooney.

The 34-year-old added: "I'm in a place where I could give something up. Not every footballer is in the same position. Yet suddenly the whole profession has been put on the spot with a demand for 30 per cent pay cuts across the board. Why are footballers suddenly the scapegoats?

"How the past few days have played out is a disgrace."

The Premier League has been seen as lagging behind other European leagues in its response to coronavirus and was accused by one British lawmaker of operating in a "moral vacuum".

But Rooney questioned the wisdom of the Premier League in preempting behind-the-scenes talks involving players with its own proposals for sweeping reductions.

"In my opinion it is now a no-win situation," he said. "Whatever way you look at it, we're easy targets."

He said the Premier League's contribution of £20 million to the NHS was "a drop in the ocean" compared with the amount clubs would save with wage cuts.

And he questioned why stars from other sports were not the focus of similar attention.

Former England striker Gary Lineker echoed Rooney's sentiments, telling the BBC that footballers he had spoken to were "desperately keen" to offer help but were an easy target.

"Why not call on all the wealthy to try and help if they possibly can rather than just pick on footballers?" he said.

"Nobody seems to talk about the bankers, the CEOs, huge millionaires. Are they standing up? Are they being asked to stand up? We don't know."

PFA warning

The PFA said its members wanted to play their part but warned that a proposed 30 per cent salary reduction would cost the country 200 million pounds ($245 million) in lost tax receipts.

England manager Gareth Southgate has reportedly taken a 30 per cent pay cut, although the Football Association is yet to confirm the move.

A handful of top-flight clubs, including last year's Champions League finalists Liverpool and Tottenham, have opted to furlough non-playing staff using the safety net of the government's job retention scheme.

But former Liverpool players Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore strongly criticised the move by the European champions, who in February announced pre-tax profits of 42 million pounds ($51 million) for 2018/19.

Rooney's former England and Manchester United teammate Gary Neville, now a leading broadcaster, was highly critical of the Premier League.

"The PL are handling the CV [coronavirus] crisis terribly," he wrote on Twitter, before outlining a checklist of perceived missteps including their slowness in imposing a lockdown and the "PR disaster" of furloughing.

Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said he was concerned about the way the talks had progressed.

"Football must play its part to show that the sport understands the pressures its lower-paid staff, communities and fans face," he tweeted.