The days of footballers earning £1m a week are “not far off”, according to former Arsenal striker John Hartson.
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The Premier League announced a record £5.1bn TV rights sale on Tuesday, meaning clubs will be richer than ever before when the money from the deal filters down.
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Hartson, who began his career before the Premier League existed, earned £29.50 a week when he started playing professionally at Luton in 1991.
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But in 1995, at the age of 19, he was bought by Arsenal for £2.5m – making him the most expensive British teenager at the time.
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The 39-year-old, who told BBC Sport he gambled much of his earnings, said: “There will be a player one day earning £1m a week, I have no doubt about that.
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“In 2020 the money will rise again. That’s the way it’s going.”
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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who earns around £300,000 a week, is among the Premier League’s highest earners.
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Football finance experts at Deloitte (external) reported that the average wage for a Premier League player was £31,000 a week in the 2012-13 season.
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But a study for the Daily Mail (external) claims the current average weekly wage for a top-flight player is £43,717.
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That has increased from £18,367 in 2005 and just £3,393 in 1995, according to the Professional Footballers’ Association’s figures.
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