The Indie:
Manchester United yesterday joined the growing debate over compensation for players on international duty when the club's chief executive, David Gill, demanded a share of World Cup revenue for the clubs.
Amid increasing club-versus-country tension in the build-up to Germany, Gill said that simply insuring players who risk injury during the month-long tournament was not sufficient to protect those who pay the wages of England internationals and those from the other 31 countries.
"It's a hot topic," said Gill, who was speaking at the Soccerex forum, on business and football, in London. "We fundamentally believe our players are the assets who provide the income for the World Cup. It generates a huge profit, but in essence, that is being produced by the clubs.
"Under the regulations, we have to do that for free. We are not saying there should be pound-for-pound reimbursement of a particular player's wages because obviously there are different salaries in different countries. But there should be a top slice off the [World Cup] income and it should be distributed to the clubs of participating players on an equal basis. That way, the Trinidad and Tobago league benefits as much as ours.''
Gill said insurance cover was the least the clubs could expect come June. " Look at Louis Saha," he said. "He's in fantastic form at the moment but, at the start of the season, he was injured and got those injuries through going away with France. We clearly want the national team to be successful and recognise that Uefa and Fifa distribute their profits for the good of the game, but they do not have a monopoly."
Gill used the example of another United player, Kieran Richardson, to explain what clubs were up against when players are put in the shop window playing for their country. "Keiran did well with England in Chicago last summer, but then comes in and wants more money because he views himself as an England player. I don't buy that argument that international appearances add value to a player." Gill said, emphasising that players that become internationals command higher wages, adding to the strain on club budgets.
"We are not a selling club and we seldom sell international players. We recognise that Uefa and Fifa are non-profit organisations but they do not have a monopoly on what's for the good of the game. We put resources and money into our community."