Arsene Wenger feels that young players are lacking desire due to being paid too much too early in their career.
Wenger has called on the Premier League and the FA to take action as he feels the development of young players in England is being hindered by money.
Speaking in No Hunger In Paradise, a film-documentary based on the book by journalist, Michael Calvin, Wenger said: “If we had a system where the players earn the same up until the age of 17, when they turn professional, then they would choose clubs only for sportive reasons.
“The financial factor is a huge influence on where a player goes and that’s where the system is very poor.
“When things come too early, it can create bad habits, the feeling you are already there, and you don’t have the desire needed to make that big career.”
In the documentary, Calvin reveals that illicit deals take place in youth football, citing examples of a 13-year-old being offered a guaranteed professional contract worth £45,000 per week and a nine-year-old being paid £24,000 per year.
Unfortunately, Arsenal aren’t entirely innocent in all this, as they lured in several young players with lucrative professional contracts themselves.
That used to give the club the upper hand in young talent recruitment, but the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City started doing the same.
England, at least, are producing excellent young players at the moment, as evidenced by their success in youth tournaments this year.
The u17s and the u20s won their respective World Cups, while the u19s won their European Championships.