Former Tottenham Hotspur star Jamie O’Hara is calling on football chiefs to bring in a new salary cap for young footballers under the age of 21.
The former midfielder believes there is a danger of giving so much money to young players, with his views coming in light of Chelsea handing Callum Hudson-Odoi’s a new and improved contract.
The England youth has penned a new five-year deal with the Stamford Bridge club, but despite the Blues refusing to disclose how much Hudson-Odoi is now earning, various media reports suggest the figure is in the region of £100,000-a-week to £180,000-a-week.
But O'Hara believes enough is enough, and is now calling on those in power to break in measures to prevent youngsters from earning huge amounts of money.
"When you’re 18 years of age you’ve got to be so careful now," O'Hara told talkSPORT. "That’s is a hell of a lot of money for a young man to have.
"If he warrants it, fantastic, fair play to him, but he’s got to have the right people around him to take him forward.
"I think there should be a cap for young footballers under 21.
"It’s a lot of money and it can ruin your life if you don't have the right support in terms of family and agents.
"You can spiral out of control and get caught up in it.
"At 18 years of age, there’s no way in a million years that man knows how to use that much money – you just don’t.
"When I first started at Tottenham and got a new contract I was getting £60,000-a-month into my account. I worked on the basis of 20, 20, 20 – put £20,000 away, allow £20,000 for bills and spend £20,000 however you like.
"But that was bad advice!
"I was silly with my money, I threw it away. I did silly things, bought cars, bought things I didn’t need. With that sort of money everything is accessible and as a young kid you want to enjoy it.
"I wish I had put the money somewhere, invested it, and have been given an allowance to live from. Someone there to say, ‘here’s this amount and now work off that’.
"This money has got to last you for the rest of your life, and you think it’s going to last forever.
"Clubs should do more. There needs to be more done with players and their finances, 100 per cent."
