Atlanta United Manager Frank de Boer Calls Equal Pay for Women's Soccer 'Ridiculous'

de Boer's native Netherlands has commited to paying its men's and women's national teams an equal rate by 2023.

Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer hasn't joined the push to get women's soccer players equal pay in comparison to their male counterparts. In fact, de Boer fought back against the idea during an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday.

“I think for me, it’s ridiculous,” de Boer said regarding equal pay initiatives. “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 have to earn the same? I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t understand that.”

The Netherlands, de Boer's home country, does not agree with his sentiment. The country will receive improved compensation in each of the next four seasons before meeting the men's team's wage in 2023, according to Yahoo Sports. 

The United States still lags behind the Netherlands despite winning the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cup. The USWNT has pushed for an equal pay throughout the summer, but there has reportedly been some resistance from the U.S. Soccer Federation.