Premier League leaders Liverpool have furloughed some of their staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are holding talks about the prospect of salary deductions for players and senior staff, the club said on Saturday. 

"Liverpool FC has placed some staff who are impacted by the Premier League suspension on furlough," the European champions said in a statement. 

Liverpool said they would top up the public money made available from the government to ensure staff on temporary leave received their full salaries. 

It follows similar moves by Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich to take advantage of the scheme, under which employers can claim for 80 percent of furloughed employees' wages. 

But former Reds players Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore strongly criticized the move by the European champions, who in February announced pre-tax profits of 42 million pounds (51 million U.S. dollars) for 2018/19. 

"(Manager) Jurgen Klopp showed compassion for all at the start of this pandemic, senior players heavily involved in @premierleague players taking wage cuts. Then all that respect & goodwill is lost, poor this @LFC," tweeted Carragher. 

Collymore poured his outrage by posting dozens of tweets during the past few hours: "I don't know of any Liverpool fan of any standing that won't be anything other than disgusted at the club for furloughing staff." 

Another former Anfield star, Germany's Dietmar Hamann tweeted: "Astonished by the news that @LFC takes advantage of the furlough scheme to claim 80% of non-playing staff wages back off the government. 

"That's not what the scheme was designed for. Contrary to the morals and values of the club I got to know." 

PFA warn of 200 million-pound shortfall in virus wage cut row.

Meanwhile, the Professional Footballers' Association warned of a 200 million-pound shortfall in British government tax revenues if a 30 percent pay cut was introduced for players. 

"All Premier League players want to, and will, play their part in making significant financial contributions in these unprecedented times," said a PFA statement after a meeting with the Premier League on Saturday. 

However, the PFA insisted it was too simplistic to criticize multi-millionaire players for not easily agreeing to salary cuts. 

"The proposed 30 percent salary deduction over a 12-month period equates to over £500m in wage reductions and a loss in tax contributions of over £200m to the government," the PFA statement added. 

"What effect does this loss of earning to the government mean for the National Health Service?" 

The English top-flight is lagging behind other European leagues and was accused by one lawmaker of operating in a "moral vacuum." 

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have taken pay cuts while the squad of Italian champions Juventus, including Cristiano Ronaldo, have agreed to have their wages stopped for four months. 

(With input from agencies)