A host of Newcastle players have announced their support for the #PlayersTogether movement on social media, an initiative set up by Premier League stars to donate funds to the NHS during the Coronavirus crisis.
Jamaal Lascelles, Dwight Gayle, Florian Lejeune, Paul Dummett, Allan Saint-Maximin, Christian Atsu and Federico Fernandez are among those from our club who have pledged their backing for the campaign, which comes after top flight stars have been openly criticised in the mainstream media for the wages that they earn.
Here is the full statement from the #PlayersTogether movement, which has been shared by players from every team in the Premier League:
This is a great move on the back of some severe scrutiny that top flight footballers have been placed under.
While some clubs – including ours – have been rightfully ridiculed for placing staff on furlough leave & appearing to milk every penny they can get from the pandemic situation, footballers have also been unfairly tarred with the same brush, simply because of the high wages that everyone knows they rake in.
A lot of footballers make good use of their fortune which often goes unnoticed by the media, something that the likes of Gary Neville and Stan Collymore have been keen to point out on Twitter.
Singers, actors, and other high profile stars rarely receive the same hostility that footballers do, why that may be is unknown, so hopefully this unity among players for a good cause can shine a positive light on what footballers do for a change.
