Raheem Sterling had his ‘payslip’ leaked after ‘leaving it in his car at a garage'

Raheem Sterling once had his 'payslip' 'leaked' online, giving insight into the staggering salaries paid to footballers at the highest level.

Football is of course an extremely well-paid job, particularly when playing in the very biggest leagues.

Wage figures are regularly reported on in the media, while some leagues like the MLS even release the official numbers for everyone to see.

But there have been times where payslips have ended up being leaked and it allegedly happened to Sterling back in 2019.

The England winger was playing for Manchester City at the time and sitting as one of the club's top earners.

It was speculated that Sterling's slip was left in his car when taking it to the garage and someone stumbled across it before posting it online.

The document showed Sterling’s basic pay and loyalty bonus, as well as monumental tax bill of £5.4 million that he was required to pay.

Image: X/@UpshotTowers

It should be noted that there is no confirmation that the slip is legitimate and it's possible that it was doctored in some way.

Sterling played 339 times for City and scored 131 goals, winning four Premier League titles, five League Cups, one FA Cup and one Community Shield.

He left for Chelsea in a £47.5 million switch in 2022, where he has played 81 times and scored 19 goals.

Chelsea finished 12th and ninth in his first two seasons and Sterling already appears to have fallen out of favour under new manager Enzo Maresca.

Image: Getty

He was omitted from the squad for the visit of City on Sunday in what was described as a "technical decision", with Chelsea still having far too many players on their books.

His camp released a controversial statement on being left out, stressing they would seek clarity about the situation.

Maresca replied: "I don't know" when asked if Sterling would remain at Chelsea beyond the transfer window.