Ex Rangers + Celtic aces caught up in EFL club's financial calamity as 'significant' issue leaves wages unpaid
The pair are formerly of Rangers and Celtic and are dealing with a brutal Sheffield Wednesday situation.
A pair of former Rangers and Celtic stars have been caught up in an unpaid wages situation at an English Championship side.
Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed that their players have not been paid for the month of March yet due to a ‘significant’ cash flow issue suffered by owner Dejphon Chansiri. He lead a consortium that bought the Owls in 2015 but he has been dogged by financial issues throughout his time in charge at Hillsborough.
The club sold their stadium to Chansiri for about £60m to ensure spending rules were not breached and then in 2023, Chansiri asked fans to raise £2m to help Sheffield Wednesday pay an outstanding debt to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and cover wages Then last November, a transfer embargo was enforced by the EFL over amounts owed to HMRC. Two players caught up in this most recent financial episode are Josh Windass and Stuart Armstrong who featured at Rangers and Celtic respectively.
Former Rangers and Celtic stars caught up in Sheffield Wednesday woe
Windass played for Rangers between 2016-18, scoring 19 times with 13 assists across 73 games, and has been a key player for Danny Rohl’s side this season. Stuart Armstrong arrived at Sheffield Wednesday this year after time in the MLS at Vancouver Whitecaps, coming with experience of winning eight trophies over his stay at Celtic. Now both are amongst the group of players waiting anxiously for news of payment.
A club statement reads: "Sheffield Wednesday can confirm a temporary issue with the payment of player salaries for the month of March. This has occurred as a result of significant sums of money owed to the chairman's businesses which has in turn impacted on the club's immediate cashflow.
"The chairman is working hard to resolve this situation at the earliest possible opportunity and in the meantime thanks everyone for their patience and understanding."
Boss tries to calm the waters
It provides much uncertainty for the ex Rangers and Celtic men and their teammates heading into this weekend’s Championship clash against Hull City, at a time when they are trying to push for the promotion play-offs. Rohl has attempted to try and calm some of the waters with focus put on matchday as much as possible,
He told the Star: “It’s not the perfect situation. The club made a statement on Monday and I’m convinced we’ll solve the problem as soon as possible, and then hopefully we can then carry on and focus on the sport side. That’s the main thing for me, I want to focus on the pitch, and not other topics around us.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m paid or not paid, I think it’s a whole situation. But again, the important thing is that we solve this problem, and we will do this. I’m convinced about this, I believe, and then we can carry on. I’m always in contact with the club, I got the information about this topic, and now it’s about waiting until we solve it. I can’t influence it, I know I’m the man from the club and this is your job - you have to ask these questions. But I trust the club, to try and solve this, and I can hopefully bring my players in focus for Saturday. Fully focused for the game. We still have seven games to go, and we have goals to achieve.”