Stephen Dunmoye
Manchester United have reportedly introduced Ronaldo’s Rule salary cap of £200,000 per week at Old Trafford.
It was reported that Manchester United want to avoid a scenario of players earning significantly more than their team-mates to ensure that there’s no bad blood in the Old Trafford dressing room when it comes to wages.
The Red Devils are set to implement the ‘Ronaldo rule’ after United bade goodbye to their Portuguese megastar and his £480,000-a-week contract in November after months of behind-the-scenes unrest.
Chief executive Richard Arnold, football director John Murtough and manager Erik ten Hag have devised the strategy in an effort to move away from a culture of jealousy within the team.
According to NEWSTODAYNG, no player will earn more than £200,0000 per week and the long-serving David de Gea is first in line to be affected. The 32-year-old goalkeeper is understood to have accepted a significant wage cut on his soon-to-expire £375,000-a-week deal in order to stay at Old Trafford beyond the summer.
The cost-cutting rule will also impact a host of players approaching the end of their current contracts. Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot and Fred were all due to be free agents this June before the Red Devils triggered one-year extension clauses in the quartet’s respective deals last month.
But with each of them set to enter negotiations over fresh terms in the next 18 months, United will hold firm and not offer any of them outlandish wages – a bold move in Rashford’s case, as potential suitors Paris Saint-Germain would be willing to double his salary.
The report adds that stars such as Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro are already in the pay bracket £180,000 to £200,000 pay bracket, with sanctions in place if the Red Devils fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Man United recently signed Jack Butland on a six-month loan from Crystal Palace.
Erik ten Hag’s side currently sits in fourth position on the Premier League table behind the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
