A proposal for a salary cap in the Malaysian league has been proposed and rejected, according to a Malaysian football insider.
Malaysian football fans on Twitter have once again raised the issue of professional clubs overpaying their players in the country.
On Sunday, Twitter user RimauXI posted a list of average annual player salary in the 2019 J1 League, stating that several Malaysian players in the Malaysian league are paid figures that are too high to make playing overseas attractive.
The tweet sparked responses from other fans and fan pages, as well as members of the Malaysian football fraternity.
Many of them are of the opinion that pro footballers in the country are paid too high despite the lack of financial returns yielded by Malaysian clubs and Malaysian football’s limited success at the international stage.
“Their salaries are not commensurate with their performance, as well as the local football industry. Malaysian football clubs are not like Manchester United, Juventus (top clubs),” wrote Ahmad Fitri.
“They pay EPL, Serie A salary levels only to get rubbish foreign signings.
“The Malaysian football economy is a flawed and topsy turve economy. It is difficult for clubs to be a sustainable, in such a system,” added RimauXI.
Great point here. Why is player salaries in Malaysia inflated. Why are local clubs paying significantly more for their player workforce which gives back significantly less back for the club in terms of ROI?!! A BIG ECONOMIC FLAW in 🇲🇾⚽. https://t.co/7caeX3QppU
— MyStadia (@MyStadia) December 20, 2020
A Malaysian manager, Khairul Anuar who now works for Myanmar National League club Yangon United also responded with his knowledge of average wages in the Southeast Asian leagues.
“In Thailand, the average monthly foreign player wage is in the range of USD5,000 to 10,000 (around RM20,200 to 40,500). In Myanmar it is between USD1,500 to 4,000. In Laos and Cambodia, USD1,000 to 2,000. In Malaysia it’s between USD10,000 to 25,000 (RM40,500 to 101,100).”
In comparison, a leaked payroll of one of Malaysia’s top clubs back in 2018 listed the monthly wage of its younger local players at around RM16,000 while two of its foreign stars received around RM128,000.
Several fans responded that a salary cap is needed in the league, in order to curb clubs’ overspending on players.
After reading this, the words ‘Salary cap’ came to my mind & I immediately don’t know what to think about it. https://t.co/XBAUWzXXVe
— Azri Firman (Hopes Everything Is Going To Be Ok) (@MrAzriFirman) December 20, 2020
Selangor FC team doctor Wazien Wafa chimed in with a revelation that a salary cap proposal has been rejected by clubs with strong financial standings in the league.
“Used to voice out about this. But was told the club that needs to change, not the league.
“There are clubs that want a cap, but clubs with huge resources will not agree to it. It’s a matter of supply and demand, according to them.”
The Red Giants are one of the Malaysian clubs whose officials have advocated for the introduction of a salary cap in the Malaysian league.
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