Richard Scudamore is stepping down as the Premier League’s executive chairman after 20 years in charge of the organisation, with his resignation being compared to that of Sir Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester United.

Scudamore’s departure remained a closely guarded secret until he made the announcement at a Premier League annual general meeting in a London hotel. It came as a surprise to executives of the 20 clubs in the room.

A qualified lawyer and former sales director, he became chief executive of football’s top flight in 1999 and executive chairman in 2014. The search for his replacement has already begun.

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Scudamore, 58, divided opinion during two decades, with a tough negotiating style which some found abrasive, but his influence on the burgeoning wealth of the top tier is undisputed. Players’ wages rocketed from an average £400,000 per year to £2.6m – the latter figure being roughly equivalent to what Scudamore earns in the executive role he will leave before the end of the year.

Scudamore has overseen an enormous rise in Premier League revenue. When he took over the division earned £25m every 12 months. That same figure now stands at £1.1bn per year and is rising. On the day his resignation was made public it was revealed that the online streaming service Amazon had won the rights to show 20 Premier League matches a season for three years from 2019, indicating more growth in diverse areas.

“It’s an absolute privilege to have been allowed to enjoy this role for so long,” Scudamore said. “It is too much fun to be called a job. Football is an intoxicating environment and therefore difficult to give up being so involved, but my passion for what football means to so many and the positive impact it can make will never diminish.”

Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, spoke with Scudamore on Wednesday but had no idea of his intention to walk away from the job. It is understood only the board and the head of the League’s audit and remuneration committee, Bruce Buck, were aware of his plan to resign and that he waited until the any other business part of the meeting to announce it.

Taylor compared Scudamore’s departure to that of other towering figures in the Premier League. “To some extent it’s like a football club,” he said. “Wenger leaving Arsenal and Sir Alex leaving Man United left big shoes to fill and so does Richard Scudamore. It’s certainly a big challenge.”

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Buck, also the Chelsea chairman, said work had begun on replacing Scudamore. “We expect to make an appropriate appointment in good time so there can be a seamless transition,” he said. “I speak for all the clubs when I say we are very sorry that Richard will be leaving, but we could not have asked for anything more from him. For 20 years he has led the Premier League with distinction.”

Scudamore’s period in office was not without controversy. He was lucky to keep his job when damning emails emerged between himself and a lawyer. A tribunal was told that the pair used “sexually explicit” and “sexist” terms in 14 that were sent over 18 months. But many within the game stuck by him.

Martin Glenn discounted himself from the list of replacements, insisting he would not be interested. The FA chief executive said: “From a personal point of view, it’s a shame. He’s tough guy to deal with, but he really has the interests of English football in his heart. He has been a consistent supporter of the Football Foundation from the word go, at a time when the FA has blown hot and cold about it. He has been there, every year, pushing the need for the foundation and the need for community football facilities.”