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Sir Ferguson |
Sir
Alex Ferguson has revealed how he created a rule to ensure no
Manchester United player would be paid more than him during his final
years as manager at Old Trafford.
Ferguson
persuaded the Glazer family and chief executive David Gill to double
his money on the spot after they had negotiated a lucrative new contract
to keep Wayne Rooney from the clutches of Manchester City in 2010.
The
new clause was agreed without hesitation, he explained in his new book
'Leading' and maintained it was an unhealthy practice for clubs to allow
star players to earn more than the manager
'When the
Glazers and David Gill agreed to a big increase in Wayne Rooney's
salary, they wanted to know how I felt,' said Ferguson.
'I
told them I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I
made and Joel Glazer immediately said: 'I totally agree with you but
what should we do?
'It
was simple. We just agreed that no player should be paid more than me.
We agreed in less time than it takes to read the previous sentence.'
Rooney was
24 years old at the time, with less than two years on his deal and had
been flirting with what would have been a controversial move to
Manchester City.
He
even released a statement which questioned the ambition of the club,
only to reverse his decision when United smashed their wage structure to
keep him.
The England striker signed his new deal in October 2010, with reports at the time claiming it was worth £180,000 a week.
It
made him the best paid player in United's history. In February last
year, he signed for another five years at £300,000 a week.
Ferguson
also explained that for the last 15 years of his tenure at Old Trafford
he operated on a one-year rolling contract with a pay-off worth two
years' salary if he was ever sacked.
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