£3million-a-year Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, bleats about his wages

Mr O'Leary, pictured, also slammed radical Government proposals that would force firms to publish details of executive pay.

'I'm underloved and seriously underpaid' 

• Controversial airline boss said shareholders opposed to his pay should 'p*** off'
• He also urged Theresa May to 'take on' Premier League footballers over salary
• The outspoken Irish businessman said: 'If you can have Wayne Rooney getting £300,000 a week and Alexis Sanchez on £400,000, I am seriously underpaid'

Michael O'Leary, pictured, is worth nearly £1billion - but he is not happy with his salary

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has claimed he is 'seriously underpaid' - despite his £3million salary.

The controversial airline CEO added that shareholders opposed to his bumper pay packet should 'p*** off' while moaning that he feels 'unloved and under appreciated'.

Mr O'Leary - who is worth nearly £1billion - also slammed radical Government proposals that would force firms to publish details of executive pay.

Although Theresa May has watered down her plans for a full-scale crackdown on high salaries, companies will still be forced to reveal the gap between the earnings of their chief executive and the UK average.

Speaking to the Mirror's Graham Hiscott, Mr O'Leary hit back at the proposals branding them 'inane bureacratic nonsense' and urged the Prime Minister to 'take on' Premier League footballers instead.

He said: 'If you can have Wayne Rooney getting £300,000 a week and Alexis Sanchez on £400,000, I am seriously underpaid.

'I don't score as many goals as them but I employ a lot more people and I make a much bigger contribution to the UK economy.'

The outspoken 56-year-old is known for his controversial statements,announcing in 2009 that passengers could be asked to pay as much as a pound to use the bathroom during a flight.

He said: 'We’re thinking of putting a coin slot on the toilet so people may have to spend a pound to spend a penny.'

When asked if he would charge more than a pound, he replied: 'If someone wanted to pay £5 to go to the toilet I would carry them myself. I would wipe their bums for a fiver.'

A year later, the controversial tycoon asked customers whether they would think of vertical seats, akin to bar stools with seatbelts.

His theory was that by removing 10 rows of seats and replacing them with 15 rows of vertical seats, flights could carry 30 per cent more passengers and slash costs by 20 per cent.

Mr O'Leary once remarked that co-pilots were only there to 'make sure the first fella doesn’t fall asleep and knock over one of the computer controls'.

He declared aviation authorities should axe the 'unnecessary' position and instead train a member of cabin crew to act as 'back-up' should anything happen to the pilot mid-flight.

The company once conducted research on how passengers would feel about financial penalties for overweight travellers.

At a press conference in Berlin last week Mr O'Leary revealed that Ryanair is putting in a bid for beleaguered Italian airline Alitalia (stock photo)

Mr O'Leary's statements were unforgiving. He said: Nobody wants to sit beside a really fat ****** on board.

'We have been frankly astonished at the number of customers who don't only want to tax fat people but torture them."

At a press conference in Berlin last week Mr O'Leary revealed that Ryanair is looking to America as he vowed to put in a bid for beleaguered Italian airline Alitalia.

Ryanair has until the beginning of October to make a binding offer for the carrier, which is under special administration for the second time in less than a decade. 

The Irish airline only operates short-haul routes but could look to introduce new services to destinations including the US and Asia under the proposed deal.