Leeds United defender admits he is ‘ashamed’ about the money he is currently earning

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Leeds United defender Rasmus Kristensen has admitted he is ‘ashamed’ about the money he earns playing football.

Back in the summer of 2022, under American Jesse Marsch, Leeds United completed the signing of Danish right-back Rasmus Kristensen from Red Bull Salzburg for a fee in the region of £10 million, according to Sky Sports.

During his time in Yorkshire, the defender featured in 26 Premier League games for The Whites scored three times and provided one assist during his debut campaign in England.

Last summer, with Leeds relegated from the Premier League, the Yorkshire club agreed a loan deal and allowed the Danish defender to move to Italian giants AS Roma.

Kristensen admits he’s ‘ashamed’ about the money he’s earning

It was a whirlwind start for the Danish defender who earned a move to Dutch giants Ajax when he was just 20 years of age.

Things never really worked out for the now 26-year-old, who then moved to the Austrian side before a transfer to Leeds in 2022.

As a result of this, the defender has earned a lot of money from football and, in a recent interview Tv.Midtvest, was rather honest about how much he earns from professional football.

“It is not me who decides how much money I earn,” Kristensen said. I am offered a contract, and then I just politely say yes. But it’s crazy that there is so much money in football.

“I can be embarrassed that we as football players earn so much. I am actually ashamed sometimes.”

Despite earning a lot of money, the Danish defender insists that being a footballer has it’s downsides.

“But I’m a footballer 24 hours a day,” he said. “I have to think about what I eat, when I sleep and what I can do in general.

“When I go out to eat, I have to deal with the fact that people might know who I am. You’re always on all the time. Because there’s always a day after the next when you’re assessed again.”

Kristensen’s future at Elland Road unclear

After Leeds missed out on promotion back to the Premier League, as they lost 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final, the future of Kristensen is unclear.

It is not yet clear if Roma would consider signing the Danish defender on a permanent deal but his future remains up in the air, at this moment in time.

Spanish side Real Betis would reportedly be interested in another defender who moved from Leeds to Roma last summer and that is Diego Llorente.