Foreign players in Greece seek secure euro payment

FOREIGN football players in Greece are concerned about their euro-related contracts should the country default on its debt, the sports daily Goal News reported yesterday.

While Greek voters go to the polls on Sunday to decide on a crunch referendum which may leave them out of the eurozone, agents of foreign players in the country are contacting major clubs in order to help their clients reword contracts to secure their wages.

According to the newspaper, the players are worried that the possible withdrawal of Greece from the Eurozone would mean an automatic devaluation of their contract to less than half of the value.

“It is obvious than foreign players with teams such as Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK, PAOK and other Super League clubs already on the roster from previous agreements, will begin to be paid in a devalued currency,” the newspaper said.

Goal News said that over the weekend the management of Super League clubs received numerous calls from agents of players asking that a clause be included in their already signed contracts saying that “if a change in the currency of the country occurs, then the players would be paid in the currency [euro] previously agreed upon”.

The agents reportedly also want the wages of the players to be deposited in accounts abroad, not in Greece.

The newspaper reported that there is also fear from Greek players who play abroad that if the country leaves the European Union then they would not be considered in the category of EU players. — AFP