MUNICH • Europe may be the financial powerhouse of global football, but the economic impact from the global coronavirus pandemic is already beginning to hit and the consequences could be disastrous for clubs across the continent.

When players at Bayern Munich, one of the world's richest clubs, agree to a temporary 20 per cent pay cut, it is not difficult to imagine the troubles in store for the sport as a whole.

Many clubs lack sufficient cash reserves to get them through a sustained period without revenue.

For example in Scotland, where clubs rely heavily on gate receipts, the situation is "clearly unsustainable".

That is the view of Dave Cormack, the chairman of Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen. He has to find some way to cover an estimated £5 million (S$8.6 million) in costs with no revenue streams.

"No club, whatever their size, scale or level of investment, can withstand a total lack of income over a period of anything between three to six months," he said.

Even the German Football League (DFL), which runs the Bundesliga and has annual turnover of more than €4 billion (S$6.3 billion), fears a catastrophe.

"If we don't play games behind closed doors as soon as possible, there's no point wondering if we should have a league of 18 or 20 teams," said its chief executive Christian Seifert.

"We won't even have 20 professional clubs anymore."

It has been almost two weeks since major football leagues across Europe came to a halt. No matches means no money from gate receipts, and before long, payments from broadcasters may stop too.

The sums set to be lost everywhere are eye-watering.

In England, according to reports, the Premier League could lose £762 million from domestic broadcast deals with Sky Sports and BT Sport. Analysis by accounting firm KPMG suggests cancelling the rest of the season would cost the "Big Five" leagues of England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France a combined total of over €4 billion.

It is therefore not difficult to see why leagues are considering restarting behind closed doors, to at least guarantee revenue from broadcasters. After all, clubs are legally obliged to pay hefty player salaries despite the Covid-19 crisis.

With their wage bill in excess of €500 million - about half their annual budget - Barcelona are the first La Liga club actively working to cut costs, with other Spanish clubs expected to follow their lead.

At €959.3 million, the Catalan giants generate more revenue than any other football club in the world, according to the Deloitte Money League published in January.

That has not stopped them from studying the possibility of applying a temporary pay cut of up to 70 per cent to all of their first-team players for as long as the lockdown lasts in Spain, though the initial proposal has been rejected.

Some players are said to be unhappy, laying the blame at the feet of the club for wasting millions on transfer flops like Andre Gomes, Malcom and Kevin Prince-Boateng, and want to wait to see what resolution the Spanish Footballers' Association reaches with clubs. Discussions are ongoing and an agreement could still be reached.

The biggest uncertainty, though, surrounds when matches might be played again. If a way is found to finish the season before the summer, then the damage will be limited.

However, if the shutdown continues until August or later, the financial impact could mean the footballing landscape across the continent is changed forever.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN