LONDON (Reuters) — England's Premiership soccer players will earn more than $1 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) for the first time next season thanks to television, sponsorship and merchandising deals, a top accountancy firm said yesterday.Leading players could command as much as $200,000 per week — or a record $10 million a year — over the next three seasons, accountancy firm Deloitte said in its Annual Review of Football Finance report.

Chelsea's stars Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko are reported to already make as much as $121,000 a week.

The Premiership is the richest soccer league on the planet with leading clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal enjoying a following among millions of fans around the world with more than 200 countries showing Premiership matches.

Premiership players' salaries rose by 9 percent to $854m in the 2005/06 season according to the latest data available, the report said.

"Whilst the players will be the main financial beneficiaries from the new TV deals, English clubs will continue to invest in their stadia and youth facilities, which is a vital element of a successful business strategy," said Alan Switzer, a director at Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

The proportion of players' wages to clubs' revenues is expected to remain unchanged at around 62 percent next season. Extra income will be invested in new stadiums and other improvements, the report said.

Chelsea, owned by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich, is the Premiership's top-paying club, with its squad making a combined $114m, despite posting a pre-tax loss of $80m, the report said.

Manchester United, who made the Premiership's top operating profit of $41m, paid Wayne Rooney and the rest of its players $85m, above Arsenal's $83m, the report said.

Captain Steven Gerrard and other Liverpool footballers shared $69m, while Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur paid $52m and $41m respectively, the report paid.

The growing wealth gap between the English league and its European counterparts is set to widen as more money is pumped into TV and commercial deals in the Premiership, Deloitte said.

Premiership sales are expected to rise to $3.36 billion next season, about $1.35 billion above the next highest earning league in Italy, the report said.

The Premiership generated $1.4bn in revenue last year, ahead of Italy's $1bn, Germany and Spain's $800m and the $600m in France, the report said.

Next season, the League's operating profit is expected to double to $260m, from this season, the report said.

Players and owners are not the only beneficiaries of the buoyant English soccer market: the tax man, European clubs and agents also get a slice of the pie.

English professional soccer clubs paid a record $647m in taxes last season, up 8 percent from the previous season and more than quadruple the amount paid ten years ago.

Overseas clubs received net transfers from English clubs of $187m pounds, while fees to agents for transfers and other deals reached $50m, the report said.