The Premier League has defended the way it handles tax for its players after a report from the Daily Mail claimed it had a "secret deal" with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The Mail alleged that highly-paid football stars could reduce the amount they paid in tax under an agreement relating to image rights, but the league has hit back in a statement and denied any wrongdoing.
"The newspaper story regarding the legitimate tax arrangements players have in place concerning their image rights are neither a new development or newly reported," the Premier League said.
"The Premier League worked with HMRC to agree how to tax the small proportion of their overall income attributable to image rights. Image rights as a source of income are established and recognised in the UK and around the world, a practice that has been in place for many years.
"The tax paid by Premier League players is both substantial and transparent: The latest available figures from the 2014-15 season show that £891 million was paid by players as part of an overall contribution to the Exchequer of £2.4 billion a year from Premier League activity."