Footballers to earn €300,000 a week by 2010

PLAYERS’ wages in the Premiership spiralled by 9% last year and finance experts predict the bumper new TV rights package will see the first £200,000 (€294,000) a week footballer within three years.

The annual review of football finance by Deloitte shows the average salary of top-flight players was a little less than £1 million in 2005/06, with some earning over £6m a year.

Dan Jones, partner of Deloitte’s sports business group, said a 3% wage fall in 2004/05 now appeared to be just a blip.