PL finance director writes off wage cap

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Javed Khan, director of finance at the Premier League, said that cap on footballers’ wages is impossible. Khan told Accountancy Age that, despite Premiership wages reaching close to £1bn in the 2003/04 season, a cap on wages was a “complete non-starter” because the world has always overpaid its artists because of the entertainment they provide’. His comments were made just days before Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand became the highest-paid player in the Premiership on more than £100,000 a week.

However, Khan warned that clubs should be wary of excessive spending. According to Deloitte, the English Premiership has the highest wage bill in European football at 1.2bn euros (£832m). “Ultimately there is no getting away from the fact you are a business and you have to survive. A lot of commentators talk about clubs paying 60% to 70% of their turnover in wages, but not all clubs are and this ratio is slowly coming down.”