Rooney Would Welcome Sneijder Signing

When Wayne Rooney signed a new five year contract back in October of 2010, he said he was "delighted" to be staying at the club where he belongs. He was probably also rather pleased with the amount of money he would be taking home each week, as he had been then made Manchester United's top earner with a reported wage of something above £200,000 per week.

Manchester United have been linked to a player reportedly demanding more than Rooney's mammoth wages in Wesley Sneijder, and it had been said in numerous speculative reports that Rooney was uncomfortable with a player earning more than him. That to me sounds extremely egotistical and selfish of the English striker, and it is something I wouldn't really expect from him, so I was pleased to hear that Rooney would in fact welcome Sneijder to United, no matter what his wages would be.
A source close to Rooney said:

"It's nonsense to suggest Wayne would ever stop Manchester United signing a player like Wesley Sneijder because he wants to stay the top-paid player at Old Trafford; its absolutely not true. In fact, it's just the reverse. He’s happy to see United sign any world-class player to improve the club's chances of success."

"What other players earn when they join United is of no concern to Wayne. He is happy with his own situation at the club. Wayne is committed to seeing Manchester United improve at every level, which is why he signed on for five more years last season."

Indeed, despite the questionable demands from Sneijder about his wages, it should be of no concern to any other players what they earn per week. For a player to be against a club signing another player because they would exceed their own wages is quite frankly ridiculous to me, especially when we are talking about the already massive sums of money they are being paid.

While Rooney may support the Sneijder signing, Sir Alex Ferguson's latest comments to "forget" United signing Sneijder seems to rule out the signing, unfortunately for the majority of Manchester United fans, who find Sneijder as the perfect replacement for Paul Scholes.

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Manchester United Players Wages - How Much Is Saved

Transfer fees have often grabbed the headlines in recent years, with records being broken along with peoples jaws when they hear about the massive amounts of money spent by clubs eager for top class additions. However, the players wages have also become of interest to many football fans, with some eager to compare to certain other professions seen as more productive, while others are simply interested to find out how much their favourite player is earning.

Manchester United have been busy this transfer market, with incoming and outgoing players, all of whom command a certain wage, so out of interest, I did a bit of research. I wanted to find out how much Manchester United will be saving a week from the sales of players like Wes Brown and John O'Shea to Sunderland as well as the retirement of Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville and the release of Owen Hargreaves.

Firstly may I start my saying that these are all reported figures in the media of how much the individual players are earning/will earn per week. The outgoing players:

Edwin van der Sar; £90,000 a week

Wes Brown; £50,000 a week

John O'Shea; £50,000 a week

Owen Hargreaves; £75,000 a week

Paul Scholes; £60,000 a week

Gary Neville £60,000 a week

Possibly Darron Gibson on £40,000 a week

TOTAL: £385,000 a week (or including the departure of Gibson to Sunderland, £425,000 a week)

Now onto the arrivals at Manchester United so far, which have included Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea who cost United just under £50 million in transfer costs.

David de Gea; £70,000 a week

Phil Jones; £50,000 a week

Ashley Young; £100,000 a week

TOTAL: £220,000 a week

Now if you subtract the amount of wages paid to the new players from the amount United will probably save from the outgoing players, Manchester United will be saving £165,000 a week or £205,000 a week if Darron Gibson departs. 

This leaves quite a large amount for Manchester United to work with in their search to replace Paul Scholes. Wesley Sneijder is apparently after around £200,000 a week, which is quite excessive, even for football, while United's other main target, Arsenal's Samir Nasri is reportedly asking for just over £100,000. Through these savings mentioned, United could afford either players wages easily.

What do you think? Should Manchester United opt for the cheaper and possibly easier option in going all out to sign Samir Nasri from Arsenal, or should they attempt to strike a mega money deal with Inter to bring Wesley Sneijder to Old Trafford? According to reports, Manchester United have bid for Arsenal's Nasri, but Wenger's club are holding out for £25 million rather than the £20 million offered.

Any corrections to the wages mentioned would be welcomed - the ones here are only an estimation from varying reports.

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Would £40 million Sneijder Be Worth It?

The latest reports surrounding Manchester United's long term target Wesley Sneijder is that the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will get his man as long as the Glazer family, the owners of Manchester United are willing to fund a big money move. According to an United insider, "Sir Alex wants the player", and will need to convince the unpopular American owners that the investment would be worth their while.

With the figures being quoted, it would take some convincing, as Sneijder, who only recently signed a long term contract with Inter Milan, is valued at £40 million by Inter Milan, and is on wages of £170,000 a week at the San Siro. Due to Britain's high tax rates, United would have to exceed those wages by some way to match his current net wage payment, taking him above Wayne Rooney's wages of £200,000 a week.

The Manchester United insider said: ‘It’s up to the owners now. Sir Alex wants the player — it’s just a matter of agreeing to the wage demands."

Sir Alex Ferguson sees Wesley Sneijder as a Paul Scholes replacement, and there is no doubt the 26 year-old has the quality to add to the United midfield, but the question is, would the huge investment be worth it? Wayne Rooney seems to have discovered his best position just behind the striker who is Javier Hernandez more often than not, so where would Rooney play if Sneijder were to come in and take that position?

Nevertheless, Sneijder would be an excellent addition to the side, with his versatility and ability to work with both feet. His creativity would be welcome in the midfield, and I'm sure that as Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to buy him, then he has a position in mind. The problem however, remains the money. It is a huge amount - an amount that Manchester City, United's rivals would be able to afford with ease.

City seem intent on going for any player that United are reportedly interested in, but this is one that City will not be able to get in on, as the player has made it clear in the past that the only club in England he would want to join would be United:

"The Premier League, in terms of top clubs, is the strongest in the world, and it would be nice to finish my career saying I have played at the very top in Spain, Italy, and England. There is not many who can say they have done that, and if that does happen for me I would only want it to be with Manchester United."

With other reports stating that Sir Alex Ferguson will be given a huge £100 million transfer fund in the summer, the whole issue of the Glazers needing convincing is out of the window. A £40 million fee and then the £200,000 wage every week is a big price to pay, so the question is, is Sneijder worth it?

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