Wayne Rooney revealed his highest salary at Manchester United, prompting Gary Neville to joke that he should've been more like his former team-mates when negotiating a contract
Wayne Rooney speaks
Wayne Rooney revealed his biggest ever contract
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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has joked that he made a costly mistake by never hiring an agent. Neville, 50, enjoyed a glittering career playing for his boyhood club, making 600 appearances over 19 years and lifting 25 trophies.
Devoted to United, the right-back wasn't represented by an agent and was instead joined by his dad whenever it was time to renew his contract. In 2007, Neville even called for the removal of agents in football.
But after hearing how much ex-team-mate Wayne Rooney earned at his peak, Neville appears to be regretting his stance. "What would your biggest contract have been at United?" Neville asked Rooney on the Stick to Football podcast. "I was your team-mate in 2010-11 on £1.75million, I'm captain."
"The biggest I've been on is about £17million a year," Rooney revealed, having signed a bumper £300,000-a-week deal in 2014.
Stunned by the amount, Neville replied: "I think I should've got paid a little bit more (laughs). That's amazing, well done, congratulations... Well done, Paul (Stretford, Rooney's agent).
"Paul, let's have a chat after. I think I need an agent! All that stuff I said over the years about not needing an agent - you need a f***ing agent! £17m a year - that's unbelievable, Wazza. Wow!"
Neville wasn't a fan of agents during his playing days, telling the Guardian in 2007: "I'd like to see the removal of agents in the game. There is a concern for me and there always has been, 'How a guy can go in and ask for [a player's] wage and expect to be given hundreds of thousands of pounds and sometimes millions?'
"In this day and age I can't personally see it. That money is going out of the game and the clubs should keep that money; if the player's due it, he should keep that money."
ROME - MAY 26: Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville of Manchester United attend the Manchester United training session prior to UEFA Champions League Final versus Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico on May 26, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney earned nearly 10 times more than Gary Neville
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Neville was United's PFA representative and warned young players of the dangers of working with agents. "When we have a union as strong as we have, the PFA could help with the correct education of young players and make those players not so reliant on people who want to take money from you," the ex-United captain added.
Fortunately, Neville has plenty of income streams after retiring from football in 2011. The 50-year-old is most prominently a pundit for Sky Sports and works for ITV during international tournaments, he's also a co-owner of League Two club Salford City and has been a property developer since the age of 21.
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