Despite all the problems on and off the field, there is one area where Vietnamese football has made steady improvement – in paying players.
The average salary for a high-profile player has risen to VND50 million a month or US$29,300 a year. Middle-level players get half that salary, still large in a country where nominal per capita income remains $1,000.
Besides their wages, players also get bonuses and cash prizes from their clubs for wins and goals, getting around VND1.3 billion ($63,400) a year on average.
Hanoi T&T was the most generous, giving away VND1 billion ($49,000) to the team for a win and VND50 million to a goal-scorer.
Hoa Phat Hanoi awarded VND2 billion to their players for scoring a decisive game against Dong Tam Long An.
As a result, almost a dozen players are known to drive expensive cars like Lexus, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.
Goalkeeper Duong Hong Son of Hanoi T&T sold his Audi Q7 to buy a BMW X6 for VND4 billion. Midfielder Phan Van Tai Em of Navibank Saigon has an Audi Q5 that costs around VND3 billion.
Nguyen Viet Thang of Ninh Binh drives a BMW 530i.
Thanh Binh has a Mercedes CLS350 and Thanh Luong goes around in a sleek Mazda 3.
No one grudges footballers for being paid well since their careers only last a few years.
But what is troubling is the health of the game in the country. Rumors of match fixing and violence on and off the pitch mean match attendances have halved in recent years to a mere 4,000.
Print
