ROME: The massive wages being paid to soccer players are unacceptable in the current tough economic climate and a salary cap should be brought in, Italian Premier and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi said.

"Footballers' salaries are outside reality. It is necessary to introduce a salary cap," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by Italian media on Tuesday.

"They are unacceptable, distant from the real economy in which we live in a difficult time like this. They are outside every parameter."