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Leeson lashes FAI ruling on club salaries  ROGUE
trader turned Irish soccer club boss Nick Leeson has courted controversy
once again after hitting out at sports authorities.
The man who famously brought down Barings Bank before settling in Ireland and becoming chief executive of Galway United has criticised plans by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to limit the amount of money clubs can spend on player salaries — saying they do not go far enough.
The FAI has said that from next season the total salary bill for players should not exceed 65 per cent of a club’s total revenue.
But Leeson said the new rules still left room for clubs to operate for several years at a financial loss.
He said that the figure should be 65 per cent of all salaries at the club — not just salaries for players. Leeson said there was no doubt that a number of clubs had tried to buy success in the league in the past by paying large salaries that they could not sustain in the long term.
He said: “We are running a business at Galway United.
“We don’t buy players and then try to find the money to pay for them. Salaries for players are vastly inflated. We look at our income stream.
“In 2005 it was ?450,000; in 2006 it was ?750,000; this year it will be around ?1.2million. That will dictate salaries.”
He said three league clubs were running player salaries of more than their total revenue and that one club had an annual player salary bill of 161 per cent of revenue. |
