Dementia campaigners have described PFA boss Maheta Molango’s staggering £150,000 pay-rise as ‘a slap in the face’ and branded the union ‘morally bankrupt’.

The chief executive, who replaced Gordon Taylor and took over in June 2021, has seen his salary hiked to £650,000, with the PFA linking the increase to the cost of living crisis.

Taylor had been earning more than £2m a year and Molango started on £500,000 – but has now pocketed a backdated, 30 per cent uplift following what was effectively his first pay review.

And, following Mail Sport’s campaign, there have been moves to address the issues with a new dementia fund opened earlier this year, making £1m available. 

PFA chief executive Maheta Molango is set for a 30 percent salary increase

However, that figure is seen by many as a drop in the ocean, and amid that backdrop former Brighton and Oldham player Molango’s hefty rise has not gone down well.

John Stiles, whose father – England World Cup Winner Nobby – died after suffering from dementia in 2020, criticised the move.

‘The PFA is morally bankrupt and this just proves it,’ Stiles, who himself played for the likes of Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers, said. ‘How can they possibly justify this? It is typical of the PFA and it is a slap in the face to all those families who are struggling to pay for care for their loved ones who are suffering because they played football.’ 

Stiles also claimed the development illustrates little has changed from the days of Taylor, whose salary was set by an advisory committee.

‘Molango was non-elected and just like Taylor has carte balance to do what he wants to do,’ he said. ‘This is an abuse of money that should be there to help players. This is supposedly a new PFA. That’s laughable. It’s simple – it’s the old one in new clothing. It is a kick in the teeth to all those who have lost people without help from the PFA.’ 

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The PFA declined to comment. 

Forty-one-year-old Molango, like Taylor, is the highest-paid union boss in the country. 

Molango replaced Gordon Taylor, who stepped down in 2021 after 40 years as PFA CEO

The PFA’s move to appoint the 41-year-old came under scrutiny amid major concerns about the recruitment process

However, insiders say the restructuring of the PFA has led to a more transparent process in which an independent renumeration committee recommends salaries which are then signed off by the operations and players boards. They also point out this is his first pay review in two-and-a-half years.

Regardless, John McNamee Jr, whose father played for clubs including Celtic, Newcastle and Blackburn, was also deeply unimpressed.

The McNamee family recently sold their home to pay for care home costs for John Senior – who was diagnosed with dementia in 2016 – having decided to not apply for money from the £1m fund as they thought it would take cash away from those who were more desperate than themselves.

‘We got what amounted to little over Molango’s pay rise,’ John Jr explained.. ‘Dad will now likely pass away in a care home without being a home owner despite a 13-year playing career. I’m surprised but not surprised at this. It’s typical.’