Even mighty FC Barcelona has had to implement a 70 percent wage cut during the suspension of La Liga as clubs across Europe battle with an economic downturn in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
ADVERTISEMENTA Portuguese football team has become the latest victim of the harsh economic reality of the coronavirus pandemic with other football clubs in Europe also fighting to stay afloat.
CD Aves, which is based in northern Portugal, has seen players leave after it was unable to pay their salaries on time.
Just two years after the high of winning the Portuguese Cup, the club is now going through a huge financial and institutional crisis.
It has now been announced that it won't be able to play the last game of the season in Portimão.
Aves is already relegated but the match is decisive for Portimonense and the other clubs involved in the relegation battle.
Club and SAD, the company that runs professional football, don't see eye to eye and the COVID-19 pandemic has only complicated an already difficult situation.
In France, Ligue 1 side Bordeaux is also at open war with its majority shareholder.
The situation of the historic club has seen thousands of supporters take to the streets in protest and was a campaign issue in the last local election.
For now, the "Girondins" have been saved by a last-minute investment but the management has already warned that austerity is here to stay.
It seems to be an inevitable path in European football as more clubs face the new economic reality of the pandemic.
Even at FC Barcelona, the club with the highest payroll in world football, the crisis is making itself felt. Its bright constellation of stars has suffered a 70 percent wage cut during the suspension of La Liga, Spain's top tier league.