United tie Rooney's wages to future success

Wayne Rooney's salary at Manchester United will be dependent on the club's success as they transform new player contracts to include an element of performance-related pay.

Wayne Rooney's salary at Manchester United will be dependent on the club's success as they transform new player contracts to include an element of performance-related pay.

The 18-year-old will earn around £50,000 a week at United after joining from Everton on a six-year contract for £27m - but only if the club continue to qualify for the Champions' League group stage.

There are other incentives in Rooney's contract which will boost his earnings, for example if United win the Premiership or the Champions' League.

United are anxious to tie wages more closely to the club's earnings so that if they miss out on, for example, the Champions' League windfall, they will not have to pay the players as much.

Alan Smith and Gabriel Heinze signed performance-related contracts when they joined the club this summer. The chief executive, David Gill, told a recent meeting of Shareholders United that contracts for new players - or those signing new deals - would be partly performance related. "We have to make sure that some of the money is tied to success," he said.

Meanwhile, Louis Saha has welcomed Rooney's arrival. "We must be a top team again as we were before, rediscover our supremacy, and Rooney is going to help us," he said. "Personally he will also allow me to improve my game and work harder."