Gary Lineker was one of the best strikers of the 80s, he played for FC Barcelona, among others – Photo: / Getty Images
Nowadays, even young talents in football are already earning millions. England legends Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker made it clear in their podcast that things were very different a few decades ago.
Alan Shearer (53) and Gary Lineker (62) were among the best players of their time. While Shearer earned legendary status on the island during his stints at Southampton FC, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, Lineker showed his qualities both in England (Leicester City, Everton FC) and abroad at FC Barcelona.
In their joint podcast “The Rest is Football”, the two ex-national players chatted with Micah Richards (35, formerly of Manchester City) about the salaries in professional football at the time – and were surprised by the extremely low wages.
Shearer only received £27.50 as a youth player. After a hat-trick for Southampton, he signed a professional contract and could look forward to more money. “When I signed my professional contract a few days later, I had suddenly gone from £27 a week to £225 a week and received a signing fee of £6,000.” Despite the promotion, the sums are no comparison to today’s salaries.
Alan Shearer mit seiner Frau Lainya – Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
Lineker: ‘First paycheck was £16 in an envelope’
However, it was a fortune for the former striker at the time, he clarified: “I went out straight away and bought my first car. £3,995 for a red Ford Escort. I thought I was a multi-billionaire.” However, his expert colleague Lineker had to be content with even less in the 1980s.
Lineker earned £100 a week as a professional
“My first paycheck was £16 in an envelope and a separate envelope with a fiver in it for my mother,” the Englishman explained, continuing: “I signed my first professional contract and earned £100 a week, and that was in the year 1978.”
“I had that contract for about three years and then signed a new one when I thought I was really rich when I was paid up to £400 a week and that’s what I was earning when I was 24 at Leicester left.”
Haaland and Neymar are receiving multiples today
For comparison: Erling Haaland is expected to earn an annual salary of over 50 million euros at Manchester City. It becomes even clearer when it comes to Neymar’s salary. The Brazilian is expected to earn almost 150 million euros at his new club in Saudi Arabia, Al-Hilal. That would be 280 euros a day. No comparison to Lineker and Shearer’s salaries.
Sources used
The Sun
2023-10-01 17:23:45
#England #legends #leak #salary #Gary #Lineker #Alan #Shearer #earned
