Reading chairman John Madejski has hit out at the amount players earn, describing their salaries as "obscene in the extreme".
He told BBC Radio Berkshire that he would not be offering high wages to attract new signings to the club.
He said: "I think players are paid quite enough already and they don't need to be as high as they are.
"I'm pleased they get good salaries - that's only right - but it's gone off the Richter scale."
Madejski said that despite relegation from the Premier League, the club were not awash with money.
"It's not as wonderful as you imagine," he added. "We've done a lot of remedial work on the stadium.
"The difference between being here and being in the Premiership is a £22m deficit and we still have an enormous squad of players.
"Over the past three years we've spent everything that we've had - as everybody does.
"We try to do the best we can and we have a great model, but we're not wallowing in a lot of cash, I assure you of that.
"We've sold 14,000 season tickets and I'm delighted about that, but it pales in significance compared to last season.
"We have to cut our coat according to the cloth, and it ain't that good."
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