A leading football analyst believes that earnings at the top end of the game's pay scale have peaked.

Stan Lock, of stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin, is convinced clubs are watching the purse strings more than ever.

''Most of the Premiership teams have got their act together when it comes to wages,'' he said.

''We've had a bit of a scare the last two years with clubs being in trouble. That's through spending and salaries.

''You are not going to see high wages any more or big transfer fees. That has been curbed, apart from Chelsea.''

England captain David Beckham, however, has bucked the trend. FourFourTwo magazine claims he is worth £75m.

That outstrips Arsenal forward Dennis Bergkamp, who is on £37m, and Newcastle striker Michael Owen, who is third on £30m.

Lock claims Real Madrid midfielder Beckham is a one-off.

He continued: ''No-one is in the Beckham bracket when it comes to earning power.

''The name Beckham is a brand - he is a global company. You have to put him apart from everyone else.

''You have to wonder where the next Beckham is coming from. Only Ronaldinho comes close to his status at the moment.''

Wayne Rooney has risen to 20th on the list but, with just £8m to his name, he is a long way short of either of his international team-mates.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane may be out of a job at the moment but he is unlikely to go short with wealth estimated at £25m.

While many may baulk at the huge salaries being paid out to top players, a lot of young people are making big money in business and elsewhere.

* World Cup security chiefs will meet on after tomorrow's draw to finalise plans to target English and Dutch hooligans.

Tournament hosts Germany have bad memories of the 1988 European Championships, where there was trouble involving fans from both England and Holland.

Organising committee vice-president Horst Schmidt said: ''There will be a seminar to provide team delegates with the information they need to allay any concerns on security.

''Once we know where England's and the Netherlands' matches will be, then we will focus our security plans on these.''

England fans were involving in running battles in Marseille during the 1998 World Cup and there were violent scenes in the Belgium town of Charleroi during the 2000 European championships.

Since then, however, new legislation introduced by the British government has seen the problem diminish, with more than 3,500 English fans subject to banning orders, meaning they have to surrender their passports during major tournaments. The Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal passed over virtually trouble-free.

Germany also has its own internal hooligan problem and in 1998 German fans were responsible for the near-fatal beating of a French gendarme.

* Sven-Goran Eriksson ruled himself out of the running for the vacant managerial post at Real Madrid as he concentrated his mind on tomorrow's World Cup group draw.

Eriksson has been touted as a potential long-term replacement for coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, who was sacked this week.

The Brazilian has been replaced on a short-term basis by reserve team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, leading to speculation that Eriksson could leave his England post after the World Cup finals.

However, while former Lyon coach Paul Le Guen remains a possible candidate, Eriksson has joined Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez in distancing himself from the job.

The England coach insisted: ''I have not had any contact from Real Madrid regarding that. I still have two-and-a-half years left on my England contract."