Foreign owners believe in wage cap, says Rams chairman Pearson

13 April 2012

Adam Pearson believes the growing influx of overseas investment could lead to a salary cap for Premier League players.

The Derby chief said: "Wages have reached a limit. It's not really possible for them to go any higher without clubs getting into difficulty.

"There's a general consensus among principals at clubs that something has to happen.

"There are new owners — and overseas owners, particularly — who cannot understand why you put wages at a level you can't afford. They struggle with that as a concept. I have to say I agree.

"It's difficult for the biggest clubs to agree with that because they operate from a position of huge power. But there's a growing strength of feeling that perhaps the finance should be redirected back into the football club, back into the infrastructure or back into the facilities. Perhaps into the grassroots of the game, rather than just going out to agents and players.

"Players' wages are probably high enough now in the Premier League and the Championship.

"The ideal way would be to do it as a percentage of turnover. Everyone knows that if you're in excess of 60 per cent of your turnover, you're going to struggle. Every owner knows what his club can afford."

The most recent review of football's finances, by Deloitte, revealed the average wage in the Barclays Premier League stands at £1.1m-per-year.

The accountancy firm also predict that, because of the latest TV deals, it is only a matter of time before the first player earns £200,000 a week.

This season, clubs are expected to hand over in excess of £1bn to players in wages for the first time.