Wayne Rooney reveals lucrative Manchester United contract
Wayne Rooney has stunned his fellow pundits by revealing the value of the biggest contract he signed at Manchester United, admitting he earned a deal worth around £17million as the club’s most prominent star, reports BritPanorama.
The disclosure came during a discussion on Stick to Football, where former professionals traded stories about their playing contracts. Rooney’s announcement brought the room to a standstill, highlighting the stunning financial landscape of modern football.
In this exchange, Rooney was prompted by Gary Neville to name the largest agreement he signed across his 13 seasons at Old Trafford. Upon revealing the figure, he left Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, and Roy Keane momentarily speechless.
The conversation underscored not just Rooney’s standing in English football, but the vast financial growth of the Premier League during the latter years of his career. Rooney signed a five-and-a-half-year extension in 2014, widely reported to be worth £300,000 per week, along with commercial rights and post-retirement ambassadorial arrangements.
By the time he departed the club as its record scorer with 250 goals in 559 appearances, he had amassed an impressive trophy collection: five Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup, a Europa League, and three League Cups. The financial contrast with his fellow pundits was stark; Neville revealed he earned a basic wage of £1.75m, eventually rising to £2.25m.
Carragher shared that his biggest Liverpool deal totalled around £3m, primarily boosted by bonuses after the 2005 Champions League triumph. Keane, who captained United before both Rooney and Neville, stated he earned roughly £5m at his peak, noting even that sum seemed modest by today’s standards.
Neville, reflecting on the escalating salaries in football, joked that he should have hired an agent rather than negotiating his own terms. “Money was never a focus for me,” Rooney said, emphasizing his priority was remaining at United until the end of his career. “When they offered me seven years on less money, it was better for me than signing for four years on higher money. I always thought in a more cautious way.”
Meanwhile, United are next in action against Everton on Monday night—two of Rooney’s former clubs—looking to return to winning ways after recent draws against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest before the international break. The financial statements surrounding Rooney’s contracts serve as a reminder of the extraordinary transformation within football’s financial ecosystem, where figures that once seemed unfathomable are now standard fare.
