Britain's highest paid union boss Gordon Taylor under pressure to step down amid spending controversy

• Video report by ITV News Sports Editor Steve Scott

The leader of the Professional Footballers Association is facing serious criticism from hundreds of his members who are unhappy at how the union is run and how the money is spent.

Gordon Taylor has run the union since 1981, during which time he has strongly defended his members' right to earn large salaries from the game.

More controversially he has also earned himself massive sums while doing so and is, by some margin, the best-paid union official in Britain.

Mr Taylor, who will be 74 next month, is used to fending off criticism, but he now faces a bigger challenge from the union's chairman Ben Purkiss who is attempting to oust the chief executive.

Mr Purkiss is calling for a full review of the organisation and a message backing him is circulating among former players.

One message reads: "The PFA must be run by people wiling to be open, transparent and democratic. We call for Gordon Taylor to step down and allow the PFA to modernise and evolve."

One of those leading the campaign is former Premier Peague defender, Craig Short.

He wants a complete PFA overhaul and an analysis of how it spends it spends its £25 million annual funds.

He told ITV News: "If this gets swept under the carpet I think they’ll lose the confidence and I think that’s the only way to move forward and make the PFA what it should be.

"We’re talking about an inside man who’s come up and raised his head and called for it. He knows something that he’s concerned about, he’s raised his concerns publicly, it must’ve been a really tough thing to do."

Last year Gordon Taylor was paid £2.2 million in salary and bonuses, the equivalent of £42,308 a week. In contrast, the PFA have paid just £565,261 into the footballers' benevolent grants and £125,000 into dementia research despite growing evidence that suggests degenerative brain disease is linked to heading the ball.