Former players blasted Liverpool for their move to furlough the cub's non-playing staff yesterday as Premier League clubs held talks over possible pay cuts for first-team staff due to the Coronavirus crisis.

The Anfield club said they would top up the public money made available from the Government to ensure staff received their full salaries. It follows similar moves by Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich to take advantage of the scheme, under which employers can claim for 80 per cent of furloughed employees' wages. 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 (US$51 million) for 2018-19.