By Alexander Krassimirov
January 6 – One of the largest shareholders in Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia, Petar Mandjukov (pictured), has called for aggressive cuts in player wages, but the introduction of a bigger bonus system if the club qualifies for European competition.
CSKA Sofia players are currently unpaid for November and December. The last time they received their salary was in October – paid by Mandjukov.
He has now petitioned club president Alexander Tomov, and the team coach, Stoycho Mladenov, saying that there has to be a change in salary structure and that the club cannot afford current wage levels without better results.
It is believed that Manjukov has proposed capping monthly salaries at an upper limit of BGN 10 000 (€ 5000) per month. This will be a big drop for some of the bigger names at the club.
CSKA Sofia players are the second highest, on average, paid players in the league – higher than players at local rivals Levski Sofia and Litex Lovech. Only players at Ludogorets, who played in the Champions League group stages but now drop down to the Europa league, receive higher monthly salaries.
Currently CSKA leads the Bulgarian championship by three points, ahead of Ludogorets. The Bulgarian championship returns from its winter break February 28.
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