Manchester United intend to open contract talks with Wayne Rooney before next month's start of the Premier League season that would make the England international the highest paid player in the club's history.
Negotiations over an extension to Rooney's existing £90,000-a-week deal at Old Trafford, due to expire in 2012, were put on hold while the 24-year-old fought a court case against his former representatives Proactive, who had claimed they were owed £4.3m in commission payments. That case was settled yesterday when Rooney and his wife, Coleen, were ordered to pay Proactive a £90,000 "restitutional remedy", leaving the way clear for United to secure their prized asset on a new long-term contract.
United's chief executive, David Gill, thanked by Rooney for appearing as a witness on his behalf during the court case, plans to hold talks with the striker and his agent, Paul Stretford, when he returns from the club's pre-season commitments in North America and Mexico at the end of this month. United are confident the Croxteth-born striker is happy to continue his trophy-laden career at Old Trafford and hope an agreement can be reached within weeks.
Despite the downturn in spending under the ownership of the Glazer family, United are ready to offer Rooney a lucrative deal that reflects his growing status at Old Trafford. It is believed the new contract will be worth around £130,000-a-week, eclipsing the £120,000-a-week given to Cristiano Ronaldo in April 2007 and taking him above Rio Ferdinand in the list of United's current top earners.
While Rooney's long-term future at United may soon be resolved, Sir Alex Ferguson believes the striker will be haunted by the failure to transfer his talent on to the World Cup stage but does not expect the club to suffer as a consequence next season.
The striker is now recuperating on holiday and will miss United's pre‑season tour, and Ferguson says Rooney, the France captain, Patrice Evra, and the Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic will face a lasting regret over their performances at the World Cup.
Speaking before the opening game of the tour, against Celtic in Toronto tonight, the United manager said: "I don't expect a hangover. I think there will still be a bit of disappointment in the lad.
"I think all the players coming back from the World Cup who didn't do well, who didn't reach their expectations, will feel that they've missed something. That's because the World Cup's only once every four years. That's the horrible part of that tournament. We have several players who have come back very, very disappointed. We've Patrice Evra for instance, Wayne Rooney of course, and Nemanja Vidic."
The one plus from the World Cup for last season's Premier League runners‑up, their manager cites, was the impact of the Mexico forward Javier Hernández, who followed his £7m signing from Guadalajara with two goals in the competition against France and Argentina.
Ferguson added: "I think one player who will come back quite positive because he had a good World Cup was young Javier Hernandez from Mexico. I think he did very well and he surprised a lot of people. So whereas we've got some disappointments from players like Wayne, Nemanja and Patrice, I think we're going to have a positive effect from Javier."
