Yes, you read that right. £300,000-a-WEEK. That's the eye-watering figure Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney takes home every seven days after signing an improved five-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford. His earnings make Yaya Toure look like a poor relation while the £140,000-a-week teammate Juan Mata takes looks like pocket money by comparison. Rooney is easily the Premier League's highest-paid player and one of the best-paid athletes in the world, and has just entered his 11th season with the Red Devils after signing from Everton in 2004. Since then, the England international has scored 217 times in 443 appearances for United and is closing in on Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 249 goals to become the Red's all-time top goalscorer. Considering United's well-documented plights, players like Rooney are a necessity lest they drift further behind their competitors and in agreeing to make the forward the best-paid player in England, are ensuring they can remain competitive at home and abroad for years to come.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
