David Sullivan Jnr, son of West Ham co-owner David Sullivan, has insisted that club academy legend Tony Carr was well compensated for his services.

The Hammers have received a severe backlash from fans for letting go of Carr, who had been attached to the club for the last 43 years.

The 65-year-old has also expressed his disappointment on the manner of his departure from the club.

Sullivan Jnr explained the club's decision on website thewesthamway.co.uk: "Tony has earned over £1.6m since 2005. Many fans are not aware of this figure and I think it is hard to dispute that this is a fair wage and he was not underpaid. He received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the testimonial we organised for him (which was a thank you for his service to the club) and when we brought Terry Westley in we gave him a two-year fixed ambassadorial role at £210,000.

"Most men in the UK retire at age 65. So essentially he is just retiring. Tony also has a substantial pension, we cannot disclose the amount but I assure you Tony is being very well provided for by the club."

Carr was responsible for discovering talents like Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, Mark Noble and Glen Johnson for West Ham, but failed to bring through any talent since 2008.