YP Letters: Criticising footballers over excessive pay is an own goal

Manchester United striker Alexis Sanchez earns a reported Â£350,000 a week - is this salary justified?

BOB Watson (The Yorkshire Post, January 11) seeks to defend the excessive earnings of chief executives and, in order to do so, asks us to “consider the excessive, some would say obscene, pay of such as Premier League footballers”.

Mr Watson compares chalk with cheese. All footballers are employees and their wages are set by the chief executive of the football club that employs them. The club can simply refuse to meet their demands and employ another footballer, or bite the bullet and pay the going rate.

In essence, footballers are in the same position as plumbers or plasterers, but their talents are more valued. On the other hand, chief executive pay is decided by remuneration boards that have a vested interest in the process.

I estimate that during my working life of 50 years I earned approximately £1m before tax, whereas the former chief of building company Persimmon received a bonus of £76m.

Bob Watson says that “a little perspective also needs to be applied”. Well from my perspective, some chief executive pay is obscene and the pay of some footballers is excessive,  but whilst the former bear  some responsibility for their excesses, the latter are simply taking advantage of free market forces.