Burnley have warned they would face a £50million shortfall if it is not possible to complete the Premier League season as league leaders Liverpool became the fifth top-flight club to place a number of non-playing staff on furlough.

The Clarets released the figures on the day that Premier League clubs were due to meet with players' and managers' representatives to discuss wage cuts of around 30 per cent in order to ease the financial burden caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The league has also announced a contribution of £20million to the NHS and £125million to the lower leagues.

The Premier League and its clubs have faced criticism as a growing number of them opt to furlough non-playing staff while continuing to pay their highest earners.

Liverpool followed Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich in announcing such a move. It is thought Liverpool's decision affects around 200 members of staff whose work has effectively become idle during the ongoing suspension of the league.

The club will top up the money offered under the government's job retention scheme to ensure those affected receive 100 per cent of their salaries. The club is also continuing to pay its matchday staff during the suspension.

But Burnley moved to counter the narrative that clubs can necessarily afford to ride out the storm as they outlined how the possible loss of the remainder of the season would affect them - saying some top-flight clubs could miss out on as much as £100million.

The Clarets said that if the campaign cannot be completed they faced a loss of matchday revenue worth £5million - money that would still be lost if the league resumes behind closed doors - as well as a £45million shortfall in broadcasting revenue.

Chairman Mike Garlick said: “It’s a completely unprecedented situation that we and other Premier League Clubs face and which we could not have foreseen in anyway only just a few weeks ago.

“It’s now not just about Burnley or any other individual club anymore, it’s about the whole football ecosystem from the Premier League downwards and all the other businesses and communities that feed from that ecosystem.

“As a club, as fans, as staff members and as a town we are all in this together and I’m sure we can get through this by sticking together and helping each other in every way possible in these tough times.

“We all need to do our bit, however small, together as One Club.”

Last month, Burnley recorded a net profit for a third successive season in their accounts for the financial year to June 2019. 

The accounts showed a surplus of £4.3m (£5m pre-tax) as Sean Dyche’s side secured a fourth successive season of top-flight football.

The figure was down on the record profit of £36.6m from 12 months earlier, largely owing to the increased net spend.

And chief executive Neil Hart believes the figures are a positive, at a time when the game’s finances have come under increased scrutiny.

“That’s testament to the board of directors, chairman Mike Garlic, all the staff, Dave Baldwin who has been running the ship as chief executive,” Hart explained.

“It’s been a whirlwind for me over the last few weeks with everything that has been going on, but I think the club is extremely well run.

“We’re very prudent in how we run our financial model, and clearly it’s working and will continue to do that in the coming years and months to come.”

Liverpool, who in February announced pre-tax profits of £42million for 2018-19, will top up the public money received from the government to ensure the affected staff receive their full salaries.

A Liverpool club statement said: "The club have confirmed those staff will be paid 100 per cent of their salaries to ensure no member of staff is financially disadvantaged.

"Last month the club also confirmed that it would pay its matchday and non-matchday staff while the Premier League is suspended."