FA welcome transparency

26 October 2011 12:17

The Football Association say the taxman's scrutiny of every payment to agents over the last year will help bring further transparency to the game.

The FA have written to all agents on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs warning they will be passing on details of all payments made.

An FA spokesman said: "We are more than happy to assist HMRC in these matters. Transparency is uppermost in our thoughts and this will bring further clarity to the game."

Agents earned around £80million last year from players in the Premier League and Football League, according to analysts Deloitte.

The FA's letter to the agents states they will be submitting all payments made in the year ending March 31.

HMRC have already moved to tackle the issue of image rights, where clubs pay players - often into an offshore account - in return for using their image.

Most Premier League clubs have already agreed a collective deal with the taxman to cover image rights payments but four clubs including Manchester United are understood to be negotiating independently.

Source: PA