Belgian giant Anderlecht have fired assistant coach Par Zetterberg to save money as the coronavirus football lockdown starts to bite.

The Brussels club say they fired the 49-year-old Swede due to major revenue losses since the championship was suspended because of coronavirus.

"Professional football, as with many other economic endeavours, is faced with major challenges by COVID-19," Anderlecht told local media.

"It is having a major economic impact on the club," said Anderlecht, who won their last three league games and sit eighth in the suspended league.

"So that is why we are arming the club in the short term to better defend itself against major losses due to the championship being put on hold.

"That's why we had to part with Par Zetterberg who will be remembered as a giant here," the club said.

Zetterberg, a former Sweden midfielder, played almost 300 games for the Brussels club in two stints.