Man United Fan favourite Juan Mata has admitted that although he loves his football, he is paid an ‘obscene amount’ of money for it.
Mata, who has nine goals and eight assists for Louis van Gaal’s team this season, has even admitted that he “lives in a bubble”, sounding off about a number of issues to do with the commercial side of the game.
“It costs £40 to watch United play. It’s not cheap,” Mata told Spanish television show Salvados on Sunday night when asked about the cost of tickets.
“I can understand what they’re talking about [when people say they hate the modern game]. The business side of football makes it seem as though the owners are now more important than the fans.
“It’s not like the football of old; there wasn’t as much press coverage before or as many interested parties looking for their cut.”
He added: “Football is very well remunerated at this level. It’s like we live in a bubble. With respect to the rest of society, we earn a ridiculous amount. It’s unfathomable. With respect to the world of football, I earn a normal wage. But compared to 99.9% of Spain and the rest of the world, I earn an obscene amount. The barometer we use for measuring our salaries is comparing them to those of our team-mates and what other players are earning elsewhere.
“I live in [a bubble]. Real life is the one my friends live. They’ve had to look for work, sign on to the dole and emigrate. That’s normal life now. My life as a footballer is not normal.
“I don’t enjoy the business side of football. I love the game. I love training and competing. I’d happily take a pay cut if there was less business involvement in the sport.
“At this level we’re very well paid and sometimes you get to thinking that there really isn’t much of a difference between x and x plus three.”
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