Man City not to seek coronavirus furlough offer

"We can confirm, following a decision by the chairman and board last week, that Manchester City will not be utilising the UK government's coronavirus job retention scheme," the club said in a statement.

"We remain determined to protect our people, their jobs and our business whilst at the same time doing what we can to support our wider community at this most challenging time for everybody."

Among other clubs, table-toppers Liverpool have announced a furlough, accessing the government's job retention scheme, which means the public purse will cover 80 percent of wages.

Former players have come down heavily on the move, saying the governmenta¿s scheme is not being used as intended.Liverpool announced a 42 million ($51 million) pre-tax profit in February. The others clubs are Tottenham, Newcastle, Norwich and Bournemouth who have all used the furlough option.Gary Lineker, speaking to the BBC on Sunday, also appeared to question the clubs' actions.

"The big clubs, youa¿d have thought, would have been savvy enough to perhaps try to help more of their workers when players are earning so much money," he said.But Liverpool fan group Spirit of Shankly supported the cluba¿s move."The use of the furlough scheme maintains that commitment (to treat staff fairly) and it ensures that all lower-paid staff who run a variety of contracts will continue to receive 100 per cent of their wage. That's got to be seen as a positive," the group said in a statement.