Manchester United star Juan Mata has openly admitted that footballers earn 'obscene' amounts of money.

It is no secret that footballers at the highest level are very well compensated for their work and Mata is among the elite players who earns a lot of money, pocketing a reported £8.5million a year.

However, Mata has gone on to state that footballers are earning stupid amounts of money compared to a normal wage and added that he would happily take a pay cut if possible.

The Spaniard told AS: "Football is very well remunerated at this level. It's like we live in a bubble.

"With respect to the rest of society, we earn a ridiculous amount. It's unfathomable. With respect to the world of football, I earn a normal wage. But compared to 99.9% of Spain and the rest of the world, I earn an obscene amount.

"The barometer we use for measuring our salaries is comparing them to those of our team-mates and what other players are earning elsewhere. I don't enjoy the business side of football. I love the game. I love training and competing.

"I'd happily take a pay cut if there was less business involvement in the sport.

"At this level we're very well paid and sometimes you get to thinking that there really isn't much of a difference between x and x+3."