Scott Carson was 38 years old and had the best job in English football: warming the bench.
In 5 seasons as Manchester City’s third-choice goalkeeper, he barely played 2 matches. But he wasn’t there by chance. The Premier League requires 8 of the 25 players in each squad to have been trained for at least 3 years in the youth system of an English club, and Carson, who had been with Leeds United since he was 15, was the perfect piece to meet that requirement.
In 2022, against Sporting de Lisboa in the Champions League, he came on as a tribute and the entire crowd gave him a standing ovation. It was his second match wearing the sky-blue shirt. Meanwhile, his salary kept coming in: 30.000 dollars per week, 1.560.000 per year. In total, approximately 9 million dollars for playing just 2 matches 🧤
