Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has predicted that an NBA-style trade system could be adopted by football in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
Leagues and tournaments across Europe have been suspended or postponed because of the outbreak and several clubs have expressed concern about what the economic fallout will be as they face losing millions on TV deals, competition prize money and ticket sales.
“There will be lots of trades, a situation that will bring football closer to the NBA,” Paratici told TuttoSport.
Barcelona are one of the most high-profile clubs to announce they are cutting the wages of all staff, including players, temporarily to minimise the financial impact of the suspension of La Liga and the Champions League.
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Players at Bundesliga clubs Borussia Monchengladbach, Dortmund and Union Berlin have also agreed to partially or entirely waive their wages in a bid to keep the clubs afloat.
German Football League CEO Christian Seifert warned that warned that “tens of thousands of jobs” are at stake and that more than half of the 36 clubs making up the upper two tiers of German football could be erased from the landscape.
Juve’s Paratici took a different view, however, and said that some clubs will emerge from the situation in good shape.
“It’s also likely that some of the clubs, for example in Germany, may benefit from the overall situation of crisis as they have a more solid economy than others,” he added.
The pandemic has already made big money summer transfers seem unlikely.
Sources have previously told ESPN that Manchester United are now optimistic Paul Pogba will remain at the club past this summer as they doubt any club can afford the midfielder.