Juventus players and coach Maurizio Sarri have reached an agreement over a wage reduction that will save the Italian champions 90 million euros, the Serie A club announced on Saturday.

Sarri and the first-team players have agreed what amounts to a four-month pay reduction to help Italy's most successful club during the coronavirus epidemic.

The effective one-third cut to the players' annual salaries will mean a huge drop in wages for a squad headed by marquee Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the best-paid footballer in Italy who is reported to earn 31 million euros a year.

The agreement comes at a time when many clubs around Europe have had to cut wage bills because of the dramatic impact of matches having had to be postponed or played behind closed doors due to the spread of the virus.

"The economic and financial effects of the understanding reached are positive for about 90 million euros for the 2019/2020 financial year," Juventus said in a statement.

"The understanding provides for the reduction of the compensation for an amount equal to the monthly payments of March, April, May and June 2020", it added, saying personal agreements with Sarri and the players will be finalized in the coming weeks.

The Turin-based club, in one of the Italian regions hit hardest by the crisis, have suffered in recent weeks with three of their players having tested positive — forward Paulo Dybala, defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi.

Football around the world has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic with Italy having the second largest number of deaths from COVID-19.

Italy's top-fight Serie A league has been suspended since March 9 with Juventus, seeking a ninth successive title, leading the league by one point from Lazio with 12 games each remaining.

(With input from Reuters)