Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond predicts the rapid explosion in footballers' wages will continue - but has pledged that the Bantams will go on competing financially in their bid for success.

A report from accounting firm Deloitte & Touche shows that wage bills are threatening to cripple some Premiership clubs with top players often demanding more than £20,000 a week.

Richmond says the average wage for a City player is around £100,000 per year compared to £30,000 when he took over five years ago.

This growth has been mirrored in the Premiership where the total wage bill last season was three-and-a-half times higher than in 1992-93 - its first year.

According to the Deloitte & Touche report Chelsea were the top payers with a £27m wage bill.

The City chairman said: "People keep saying that the bottom will fall out of the market when football's popularity starts to wane. I don't believe that.

"For the foreseeable future, I believe money will continue to pour into the game. Sky contributes a sizeable amount of the cash in football and this year the Premiership clubs alone will receive £168 million plus another £30 million from overseas coverage of games.

"The Sky deal in this country is set to end in two years and I firmly believe the Premiership clubs will receive around £1,000million per season between them under any new deal.

"I am a firm believer in a free market system and the level of wages represent the levels of supply and demand. If clubs want the best then they have to pay for it.

"I could sit here as chairman of Bradford City and wring my hands in despair that we are not in the age of a maximum wage of £15 per week.

"But I won't because the reality is we are ambitious as a club and want to compete.

"Of course, we could not possibly dream of paying the sort of salaries that some players are reported to be asking for. Our income is only a fraction of clubs such as Manchester United."

City have shown their willingness to compete for top players in the signings of men like skipper Stuart McCall from Rangers and loan signing Lee Sharpe from Leeds.

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