Atlanta United Manager Calls Equal Pay In Soccer ‘Ridiculous’

Atlanta United manager Frank De Boer said it would be “ridiculous” to pay women soccer players equally to men since women don’t generate as much revenue, according to a report.

De Boer, who is in his first season with Atlanta United, told The Guardian that he disagrees with gender pay gaps in the workplace, but believes it is still warranted in the sports world.

“I think for me, it’s ridiculous,” De Boer said when asked about plans for equal pay. “It’s the same like tennis. If there are watching, for the World Cup final, 500 million people or something like that, and 100 million for a women’s final, that’s a difference. So it’s not the same. And of course they have to be paid what they deserve to [earn] and not less, just what they really deserve. If it’s just as popular as the men, they will get it, because the income and the advertising will go into that. But it’s not like that, so why do they to earn the same? I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t understand that.”