Former Conservative minister Lord Mawhinney has called for wage controls in his capacity as chairman of the Football League. He noted that most clubs were trading at a loss and increasing their debts. The league has seen 25 clubs go into administration since 2002. Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80m summer transfer to Real Madrid not only had a ‘ratcheting effect’ for top Premiership clubs, but for Football League clubs as well, he said. Player wages in the Football League rose 24.1 per cent last season, when revenues for all professional clubs rose to £2.5bn, but operating losses hit £529m.
Former Conservative minister Lord Mawhinney has called for wage controls in his capacity as chairman of the Football League. He noted that most clubs were trading at a loss and increasing their debts. The league has seen 25 clubs go into administration since 2002. Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80m summer transfer to Real Madrid not only had a ‘ratcheting effect’ for top Premiership clubs, but for Football League clubs as well, he said. Player wages in the Football League rose 24.1 per cent last season, when revenues for all professional clubs rose to £2.5bn, but operating losses hit £529m. A first step would be to match the Premiership’s financial reporting requirements, while other possibilities included a pooled compensation system, paid by club’s higher up football’s pyramid, to mitigate the effect of wage increases. Lord Mawhinney admitted that the two lower divisions of the league would support the idea but that Championship clubs were ‘more divided and still to be persuaded’. The Football League is also considering whether to stop or restrict directors from making loans to their club, although sometimes these are necessary to avoid administration. It was questionable whether football’s dependence on the ‘personal or corporate wealth of individuals’ was sustainable in the long term, said Lord Mawhinney.
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