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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Sam Elliott

Maurizio Sarri willing to take pay cut for Premier League rule change

Mauizio Sarri says he would sacrifice a chunk of his wages if it means Chelsea could get an easier ride from television execs.

The Stamford Bridge boss is not impressed by his team's fixture list ahead of a crucial period in their season.

Chelsea face West Ham in the Premier League on Monday night and then fly out to the Czech Republic to play Slavia Prague on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarter final.

Sarri is not happy with the tight turnaround and attacked the lack of help the Premier League give to its teams in Europe.

Chelsea earned over £30million in television fees last year but even that isn't a comfort to the 60-year-old.

“We go to Prague - as an English team. So I don’t understand why we have to play on Monday," he said. "It’s very strange.

The Chelsea boss has made his point about the Premier League (REUTERS)

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“We asked (for it to be switched) but the answer was that in the Champions League, the English teams have only three days to prepare.

“It was easy to solve the problem. But this is the situation, so we have to adapt.

“The Premier League should help English involved in Europe more. They could have done more. In Italy, teams in Europe play on Friday. Teams in the Europa League who are away from home, they can ask to play their next Serie A match on the following Monday.

“It is a Premier League decision. But they showed last season that they are able to sell English football the best way.”

Chelsea feel they have a big chance of success in Europe (ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX)
But Sarri says that Sky Sports being in town hinder their chances (PA)

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Sarri, who earns around £4.5m a year, added: “I would not mind if my salary was less but the fixture list was better, because for me, the salary is not so important.

"It is important to have fun, for me. For me, it’s not work.

“It is different for the players. The Premier League is the best in the world. So we need to have very strong players.

“The Premier League was able to sell their rights the best way possible, so in England we are lucky. We can buy the best players in the world, we have the best championship in the world. So we have to accept that we have to play every three days.”

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