SOCCER

Manchester United’s plan to keep Marcus Rashford

United want to extend Rashford’s contract to keep PSG away, but will activate the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo Rule’ and offer him no more than €18 million per season.

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Manchester United are back and one of the main reasons for this strong run of form is Marcus Rashford. The English forward has 16 goals this season in all competitions and is emerging as an essential part of Erik ten Hag’s setup. The Old Trafford outfit decided to activate a clause in his contract before the end of 2022 that allowed him to extend his contract with the club for another year, without having to negotiate with the player.

Rashford’s rich vein of form

Rashford is under contract until 2024 after United triggered the clause and there is one team that is particularly keeping an eye on his situation, PSG. He is one of the most in-form forwards in Europe and there will be no shortage of offers for him in the summer. He currently receives a salary of €225,000 per week, making a total of almost €12 million per season, a figure which falls short in comparison to his performances and which United are willing to reward him.

No more than Ronaldo

United want to extend his current deal, but not at any price. They want to change their wage format and don’t want to pay over-the-top salaries. For this reason, the Premier League club will activate the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo Rule’, which is not to pay more than €338,000 per week - a weekly salary translating to €18 million per year - and the salary that the Portuguese earned before leaving for Al Nassr. That will be the salary offered to the England international to try to keep him in Manchester.

This rule also affects goalkeeper David de Gea, as he exceeds that amount by far, earning €400,000 per week, but in the proposed renewal it will drop to €250,000. Now the ball will fall in Rashford’s court, and he will be the highest-paid player at the English club. The United-PSG fight for Rashford has just begun.

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