ZURICH: Sepp Blatter is paid €8m-a-year as president of FIFA and secretary-general Jerome Valcke €5m-a-year, according to an old friend of the currently suspended head of the world football federation writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Swiss entrepreneur Christian Constantin, president and owner of the Sion club, let fall the figures in a Swiss television interview.

This followed his suggestions last week that Blatter had not given up hope of seeing all his potential successor fall by the wayside before the extraordinary elective congress scheduled to pick his successor next February 26.

Specific remuneration details for senior FIFA officials have always been kept secret with only overall salary totals stated in the annual accounts.

One of the major criticisms of FIFA from its former reform adviser, Mark Pieth, was that the organisation could never hope to earn public trust while it kept executive pay under wraps.

Several of the seven presidency contenders have insisted they would declare all pay packages.

Constantin is no lover of football authority after battling with FIFA and then European federation UEFA through the courts two years ago, trying to overturn a transfer market ban on Sion. In the end he and his club were losers.

However Constantin claims to have remained in close contact with Blatter who is not only under an ethics committee suspension but is the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation over allegations of financial misconduct.

‘Insane salaries’

Constantin said: “The TV rights money with which they [FIFA and UEFA] fill their coffers would make you shake your head [in wonder]. Salaries have reached insane proportions and it is football which is being robbed.

“I have a good relationship with [Sepp Blatter] and we have often talked about the problems but he never really wanted to listen to me. Salaries at FIFA are over the top. The salary of the president is close to €8m and the secretary-general nearly €5m.”

Valcke is also currently under a double suspension by both FIFA itself and the ethics committee over allegations of misconduct in office which he denies.

Two weeks ago Constantin said that he had a drink and a long conversation with Blatter the day after the 79-year-old had been suspended by the ethics committee.

Constantin said Blatter’s ultimate ambition had been to win a Nobel Peace Prize for football but that had been undermined by everything which unravelled from the decision to hold the 2018-2022 bidding contests simultaneously.

Initially Blatter had still believed he would be returning to office as president yet again next February.

Constantin said: “His plan, after laying down his mandate in June, was first to use his influence with the federations to block access to five nominations to all the other candidates apart from Michel Platini . . . and then bring down Michel through the ethics committee.

“Thus, once Platini became ineligible, Sepp would be the only survivor in the midst of all the chaos.”

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