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We are a fortnight away from the Three Lions’ opener against Iran on November 21. The English stars will descend on Qatar for the footballing extravaganza, putting aside their lucrative club contracts aside for national pride.
The Premier League remains the prize for most English players, taking precedence over the more prestigious Champions League. However, it is the World Cup that is untouched in terms of prestige and glory.
Generation of English fans and players have seen their stars come up short. The current crop of stars has come the closest to the ultimate prize since the 1990 squad to emulate the champions of 1966.
However, participating in the World Cup is a big deal for the players and the honour of taking the field at Qatar 2020 will be the crowning glory of their careers.
It is in this context that it is important to understand how the players will be getting paid for wearing the Three Lions jersey. It will not be as much as the players earn from their respective Premier League clubs but it is not a sum that is easily discounted.
Highly paid at respective clubs
Before diving into the complex and tiered financials, it is good to understand how much the English stars earn on average. This list is topped by Raheem Sterling who earns a whopping £325,000 per week at Chelsea.
Captain Harry Kane is the top earner at Tottenham and takes home £200,00 every week. Interestingly, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford are also on similar contracts at Manchester club, City and United.
Players like Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham are on the opposite end of the spectrum with salaries of £75,000 and £50,000 per week respectively.
In this context, remuneration from the Football Association pales in contrast. However, the FA has managed to keep their players happy and the disbursement of monies is nothing to be baulked at.
Complex and tiered financial structure
Playing under Gareth Southgate will net players a standard match fee. This will be coupled with a winning bonus system that is triggered based on how deep in the tournament they go.
Over the years, the FA has continued to increase the stipends of their players. In Brazil, they paid £2,500 for every match a player started while the unused squad pocketed £1,500.
The Three Lions crashed out in the semi-finals four years later in Russia. They would have earned £5 million in bonuses had they lifted the World Cup, which would have averaged out at £215,000 per man. Add this to the £29 million prize money and close to generational wealth would have been collected.
The details of the financial remunerations of the England players for the 2022 World Cup have not been announced, but it will be significantly greater than what they have received in prior major competitions.
It’s exactly 5 years since England won the U17 World Cup! 🥇
Phil Foden won the Player of the Tournament award! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fyCEu6bCNd
— mcfc lads (@mcfc_lads) October 28, 2022
However, discussions regarding the finances are not appreciated by the FA, who believe that playing for the national team should be more than about the money.
“I get absolutely indignant about the suggestion that players when they play for England, don’t really care because it’s not anything like my experience,” former FA chief executive Martin Glenn perfectly encapsulated this train of thought back in 2017. “They don’t take a penny in match fees, they give it to charity.”
England players donate all appearance fees to the England Footballers Foundation charity, an activity dating back to 2007. The EFF has collected over £5 million since its inception.
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