Jamie Carragher claimed that one former Manchester United star was underpaid after Roy Keane and Gary Neville revealed how much they were paid during their time at the Premier League club.
Neville, 50, and Keane, 54, both captained Manchester United in a trophy-laden period for the club between the early 1990s and 2011.
Former midfielder Keane made 479 appearances for the Red Devils and left the club after a feud with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2005 before joining Celtic. The Irishman won 17 trophies in 12 seasons at United, including seven Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League.
As for Neville, he came through United’s academy before going on to make 600 appearances for the club, before retiring in 2011 with a trophy haul including eight Premier League crowns.
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So, considering the success the pair contributed towards, you’d expect them to be paid well.
And although both men earned astronomical amounts during their careers, the sums involved are a far cry from what current players are on.
During an episode of Stick to Football released on Thursday, Keane and Neville revealed exactly how much they earned during various periods of their career.
“I found a couple of old contracts… You can have a look at it,” Keane told Jill Scott, Carragher, Neville and Ian Wright.
Neville then read out the details of one of Keane’s United contracts.
“You signed a contract in 2000 for £950,000 per year, which is £20,000 a week,” Neville explained.
Keane asked: “Does that include signing-on fee, Nev?"
Neville answered: “Just basic wage… then you’ve got the contract that was signed in 2003. Then there’s a contract for £2.75m a year from 2000 to 2003.”
Keane’s final contract at United also included a £1m signing-on fee, which boosted his earnings to £3.75m in the first year of the deal.
"Then they put your wage down,” Neville added.
Keane replied: “Then you’re getting older, and the incentive is to play more… the incentive is to make sure you’re playing.”
Carragher then weighed in and explained how Neville had told him what he earned before the former Liverpool man said he thought the 50-year-old was “underpaid”.
“That’s double what I was earning in my last contract,” Neville said of Keane’s earnings.
“Yeah, but he was three times the player,” Carragher quipped.
“He [Keane] left seven years before me, I finished on £2.3m in 2011,” Neville continued before Wright also revealed how he thought the former right-back was underpaid.
“I didn’t negotiate my contracts; I just signed them. I wasn’t bothered,” he added.
Topics: Football, Premier League, Manchester United, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher
Luke Davies