Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner claims he is worth every penny of the £52,000 per week he earns.
The Denmark star, who will line up in the friendly against England at Wembley tomorrow, said his salary was justified by the sacrifices he has had to make during his football career - such as giving up skiing.
"It is always fair to ask whether players are worth the incredible amounts of money", Bendtner was quoted in several newspapers.
"We must be worth our salaries because that is how the mechanism of society works, isn't it? I pay a big price with my body, my time and with never being able to have any privacy when I am out.
"I really, really love to go on a skiing holiday but as long as I have my career, I can't do that because of the risk of being injured.
"That is one thing that has been taken away from me by football that other young people can do.
"When I was a young boy in Copenhagen I only played for the sake of the game and never thought about money or being famous.
"I didn't know I could become rich from football."
