Former England captain reveals the shockingly low salary she earned at Arsenal

Former England skipper Steph Houghton has revealed details of the measly wage she earned during her clip arsenic an Arsenal player.

During her prime, Houghton was regarded arsenic 1 of the champion defenders successful satellite shot and deed the big-time, oregon truthful she assumed, erstwhile she signed for the Gunners successful 2010.

Houghton spent 3 years with the northbound London club, playing a pivotal relation successful 2 Women’s Super League rubric triumphs arsenic good arsenic 2 much FA Cup succesess.

Despite her presumption successful the game, Houghton’s seniority and accomplishment were not reflected successful a wage of conscionable £4,000-a-year.

Her income had the imaginable to beryllium boosted to the tune of an further £5,000 connected relationship of assorted bonuses, positive her enactment arsenic a part-time manager and nine ambassador.

‘I enactment them figures successful the publication due to the fact that I wanted radical to cognize wherever we’ve travel from and wherever we are now,’ Houghton said successful an interrogation with the Guardian.

‘Arsenal was the champion nine successful England and that was their level.

‘Money was ne'er truly a operator for me. It was conscionable astir playing for Arsenal and winning trophies, but erstwhile you conscionable radical that person got a batch much acquisition astir what you should beryllium earning, that’s erstwhile you think: ‘Right, things person to change.”

Houghton, who represented her state connected 121 occasions implicit the people of a stellar 14-year planetary career, has spoken passionately astir her combat for parity with her antheral counterparts.

The 36-year-old, who announced her status earlier this year, was besides portion of a radical of that battled for amended wage for the Lionesses, claiming that their England contracts astatine the clip saw the FA lone walk connected 2 percent of the wealth they made to the players.

‘When I looked astatine what [England’s men] were getting for commercialized deals that truly opened my eyes,’ she explained.

‘The men and women play for the nationalist teams of the aforesaid state and yet they’re getting 15 times much than us.

‘How is that fair? I got the spot betwixt my teeth and I was like: ‘OK, we request to bash thing astir that.’ That’s what I’m astir apt astir arrogant of successful presumption of the worldly that we did disconnected the transportation – to alteration however companies thought of america arsenic athletes and to halt them taking the piss.

‘The combat for World Cup bonuses was a cardinal moment. We were going into World Cups with nary [financial] incentive, nary accidental of getting immoderate prize wealth whatsoever.

‘But we ended up coming distant with a biggish bonus for the World Cup successful 2015 [when England finished third].

‘For girls who could ne'er enactment down a deposit connected a house, it was life‑changing. That acceptable the precedent. It became a mean speech that we would benignant the bonuses retired good successful beforehand of the tournament.’

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