GENEVA (AP) - UEFA has revealed its president Aleksander Ceferin earns a pre-tax salary of 1.56 million Swiss francs ($1.64 million), fulfilling a 2016 promise of transparency on pay for top officials.
Ceferin’s salary in 2016-17 is similar to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s basic salary of 1.53 million francs ($1.61 million) in 2017. The money is taxed in Ceferin’s native Slovenia and also at a top rate of 51 percent in Switzerland where UEFA is based, the European soccer body said on Friday.
While Ceferin is not entitled to receive a bonus, FIFA has said Infantino is eligible. Infantino was not awarded a bonus for 2017 when FIFA made a net loss of $192 million, though soccer’s world body has budgeted to make a billion-dollar profit in the 2018 World Cup year.
Infantino earns a similar base amount to Ceferin despite FIFA revenue being less than half of UEFA’s over a four-year financial cycle tied to major competitions.
It is unclear if UEFA’s president is paid the most among the six continental leaders within FIFA. Others including North American soccer body CONCACAF do not publish salary details.
Ceferin’s salary is significantly less than his predecessor, Michel Platini, which is reflected in UEFA’s 2016-17 financial accounts published last month.
“Governing expenses” for the presidency and executive committee were 6.1 million euros ($7.5 million) - 1.25 million euros ($1.54 million) less than the final year of Platini’s presidency during which he was suspended by FIFA for financial wrongdoing.
FIFA’s salary for its CEO-like secretary general is also more than UEFA pays its top administrator.
UEFA said its general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, got a pre-tax salary of 950,000 francs ($998,000) last year. He could earn up to 35 percent more in a bonus.
FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura earned 1.33 million francs ($1.4 million) in 2017, according to the financial accounts published on Friday.
FIFA pays its top officials more than the European soccer body on budgeted income of around $5.7 billion from 2015 through the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
UEFA’s revenue for the same four-year period is 12.3 billion euros ($15.2 billion), including the 2016 European Championship. It includes annual income from the lucrative Champions League and the Europa League, which is mostly paid to clubs as prize money.
Ceferin is not the highest-paid soccer official on the 20-member UEFA executive committee.
Ivan Gazidis, who represents European clubs on the UEFA ruling committee, was paid 2.618 million pounds ($3.62 million) in the 2016-17 season by Arsenal as its chief executive, according to club accounts.
UEFA said it does not pay Gazidis and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli for serving on its executive committee as delegates picked by the European Club Association.
UEFA appointed independent advisers to a four-member panel which decides pay for top officials. The panel is chaired by David Gill, the former Manchester United CEO who is an elected vice president of FIFA and UEFA.
Ceferin and Gill also collect $300,000 plus daily expenses annually from FIFA as vice presidents. Other members of the world body’s ruling council receive $250,000, FIFA said on Friday.
UEFA said its six vice presidents each get paid 250,000 euros ($308,000) annually, and other elected executive committee members get 160,000 euros ($197,000). They are not entitled to any bonus, UEFA said.
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