Anyone who has watched the Premier League over the last decade can tell you Wayne Rooney has been consistently one of the best players in the league, but is he really worth the amount of money he is now earning?
There is no doubting Rooney's talent but there are few players in the world that warrant that kind of money and Rooney is not one of them. When that kind of money is mentioned players like Messi, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic all spring to mind, not Rooney.
The contract extension means the Red Devils will be paying Rooney £300,000 when he is 32 years of age. By that time there is the strong possibility he will not have the ability he previously had and the amount he is getting paid will look even more ridiculous.
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| Wayne Rooney pictured signing his new deal with manager David Moyes and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. |
The kind of money Rooney is earning could be a major financial burden on the club. In a season that is been underwhelming for the Manchester United faithful, there is the possibility that they could miss out on Champions League football making this kind of wage a major problem. If Manchester United's slump this season continues for years to come, they could find themselves with financial difficulties due to a loss in income and this type of contract will not help the situation at all.
Furthermore, this contract extension has blown the wage structure that exists at the club. If Moyes wants to bring in a high profile player, what is stopping them from asking the club for the same sort of wage that Rooney is on? If a player joins and feels they are of a higher quality than Rooney, they could well be motivated to ask for same sort of money, if not more.
A positive that can be drawn from the deal is that it ends the short term speculation that was surrounding Rooney's future. There has been regular transfer rumours that the forward was unsettled in Manchester and wanted to move away but this contract extension ends the rumours that Rooney was to leave for the likes of Chelsea or Real Madrid. When a high profile player at a club like Manchester United is constantly linked with the exit door, it can be damaging for a club's image.
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| Rooney has scored 10 goals so far this season in the Premier League. |
Manchester United fans will be happy that their terrace favourite is staying for years to come. Rooney has been at the club for almost a decade, scoring 208 goals for the club and is closing in on Sir Bobby Robson's all time goal scoring record. Rooney has legendary status at Manchester United and many fans will argue that the things Rooney has done for the club warrants his huge wage bill.
Part of the deal is that when Rooney does decide to call time on his illustrious career, he will become a club ambassador. Although it will be great for a player like Rooney to represent the club, especially due to the experience he has had at Old Trafford, there are questions marks raised about the inclusion of this. Rooney is no stranger to controversy, a player who has been on the front pages of the papers for all the wrong reasons. Rooney has had a number of discrepancies at his time at Manchester United and if he is to represent the club in the future as an ambassador he will need to be better behaved.
A major debate that has been sparked by the wage Rooney is receiving is the problem of growing footballing wages, with the money that players earning slowly becoming more and more astronomical. Many argue that a wage cap needs to be introduced whereas others believe that footballer's occupation falls under the category of entertainers and earn no more than your famous singers or movie stars. Although the debate continuous, one truth is that as these wages grow, football slowly moves away from it's working class roots.
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