Wayne Rooney: Manchester United's forward's £70m deal

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Wage slipImage source, Getty Images

Wayne Rooney's new contract. Up to £300,000 a week. £1,785 every hour and just under £30 every minute.

The deal will earn the 28-year-old Manchester United striker more than £70m over the next five-and-a-half years.

His weekly wage is more than president of the United States Barack Obama earns in a year, but boxer Floyd Mayweather's earnings knockout Rooney's.

BBC Sport breaks down what all the numbers mean...

What's in a wage?

£15.6m- Wayne Rooney's annual wage eclipses the reported salary of Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo (£14.25m) and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, whose reported wage is £12.08m a year, according to the 2013 Forbes rich list., external

£160,000 - The figure he will have to spend once tax and national insurance contributions have been taken off his £300,000-a-week wage.

£30,000 - The average weekly wage of a Premier League footballer in 2011-12, according to statistics compiled by Deloitte's sports business group.

£517 - The national average weekly wage of a person working in the United Kingdom. The amount the prime minister earns pales in comparison to what Rooney will pocket, with David Cameron collecting around £2,740 each week.

65 - The amount of weeks it would take Barack Obama, the president of the United States, to make what Rooney earns in just seven days, based on his £240,000-a-year wage.

From £4 a week to £300,000

1885 - The first year that it became possible to be paid to play football.

£4 - The maximum wage introduced by the Football League in 1901. Although it may look small by today's standards, at the time it was twice the average wage of a skilled tradesman.

£20 - The amount that was in Sir Tom Finney's final pay packet before the former Preston winger hung up his boots in 1960.

Former England captain Johnny Haynes became the first £100-a-week player back in 1961.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Former England captain Johnny Haynes became the first £100-a-week player back in 1961.

60 - The number of years it took until the maximum wage was abolished in 1961. Shortly after it was removed, former Fulham and England inside forward Johnny Haynes became the first £100-a-week player.

£1,200 - The amount goalkeeper Peter Shilton made each week in 1979 when he became the best-paid footballer in Britain by signing a new contract at Nottingham Forest.

£10,000 - The first player believed to earn a five-figure sum each week was Chris Sutton, when the striker joined Blackburn Rovers from Norwich City in 1994.

£100,000 - Sol Campbell left Tottenham for London rivals Arsenal in 2001,, external signing a contract that would see the former England defender become Britain's first footballer to earn a six-figure sum each week.

£200,000 - The estimated weekly wage Carlos Tevez earned at Manchester City when he joined the Blues in 2009.

Rooney v Madonna and Mayweather

£74.85m - Pop superstar Madonna tops the latest list of richest celebrities according to Forbes,, external having made an estimated £74.85m between June 2012 and June 2013, just over £1.4m a week.

£34.73m - During the same period, Canadian singer Justin Bieber earned an estimated £34.73m, while actor Leonardo Di Caprio earned £23.35m.

£25.75m - American footballer Aaron Rodgers is the world's highest paid athlete, based on wage/winnings, say Forbes. The Green Bay Packers quarterback collected £25.75m between June 2012 and June 2013.

£20.36m - Boxer Floyd Mayweather made the most in wages/winnings outside of the NFL, while British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton took home £15.57m during the same period.

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