Wayne Rooney says not all footballers can afford huge paycuts suggested by Matt Hancock

FORMER England captain Wayne Rooney says not all Premier League footballers can afford 30 per cent pay cuts as suggested by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

The Derby County player told The Times he is fortunate that he has enjoyed a long career and is financially stable. But that that is not the case for all footballers in the Premier League.

He also questioned why footballers are “suddenly the scapegoats?”.

He said Hancock’s briefing should be about the coronavirus crisis, and asked why his attention appeared to be on footballers’ pay, implying it was a diversion technique.

While he admitted footrballers are paid well, he believes each case should be handled individually, and said he would have no problem taking a bigger pay cut than younger players with less to fall back on.