Top football clubs made secret payments to buy the silence of young players sexually abused by coaches, The Telegraph can disclose, as the growing scandal threatened to engulf the sport.

A well-placed source said a number of clubs, including at least one Premier League team, had paid compensation to footballers but only after victims had signed confidentiality agreements so strict that along with their families and lawyers they are banned from saying publicly if the cases even existed.

The revelation will fuel concern that the national game has covered up historic sexual abuse for years.