Gary Neville has labelled Manchester United’s new club-wide salary cap as “radical” and is worried that it could turn off potential targets in the transfer market.
With the January transfer window underway and United having already secured the services of Jack Butland as their back-up goalkeeper, they are now said to be looking at bolstering their attacking options following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, as per reports by the MailOnline, manager Erik ten Hag is apparently implementing a £200k-a-week wage cap, with no current or future player allowed to earn beyond this threshold.
Responding to the news, the club legend turned pundit and Salford City owner suggested the move is a rather severe step and one that could rule out big signings.
Not sure why any radical new policy is being introduced IF new owners are imminent https://t.co/aI7EzmoOTk
As detailed in the piece, the following players who are currently on over £200k-a-week are reportedly set to take pay cuts in the coming weeks, with long-time servant David de Gea the first to face a reduction:
ADVERTISEMENT
David de Gea – £375k
Jadon Sancho – £350k
Raphael Varane – £340k
Casemiro – £300k
Anthony Martial – £250k
Bruno Fernandes – £240k
Neville goes on to argue that not only does the wage cap — not unlike that in place at the likes of Spurs (Harry Kane the highest-earner on £200k) — mean that they could lose out on big names like Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, but it hints that the Glazers aren’t as close to selling as fans would hope.
While ten Hag’s aim is clearly to garner further solidarity by eliminating financial rifts between players, especially given various members of the current squad were acquired under different regimes, the former United and England right-back believes it will take them out of the running for marquee signings.
ADVERTISEMENT
Capping wages is a radical policy. Rules out Rice , Bellingham and others in that bracket. Any new owners would probably want to enter the running for these types and probably Mbappe as well. Anyway enjoy Sunday https://t.co/tnHZMEc3zH
Responding to a commenter who argued that this kind of system should have already been in place regardless of the current ownership, the 47-year-old went on to note that neighbours Man City had a similar system in place until the prospect of generational talents like Erling Haaland became available.
He also warned that it could prove a ‘strange’ and problematic policy having multiple key players like de Gea, Casemiro and Raphael Varane on more than £200k in the current dressing room, who will now have to accept a pay decrease should they want to stay at the club.
On the other hand, it seems clear that the Dutch coach wants to avoid future CR7-esque situations in the future, i.e. when a spiralling and already volatile budget fluctuates depending on the flavour of the month/inflated market and ultimately disturbs the overall equilibrium within the camp.
ADVERTISEMENT
More importantly, speaking in a recent interview, the former Ajax man reiterated that cost doesn’t always correlate with quality:
Ten Hag: “Most purchases have been average – and at #mufc average is not good enough. United's shirt weighs heavily. Only real personalities, who can perform under great pressure, can play here.”
For now, at least, the rationale seems to be that United’s salary restructuring signals a desire from ten Hag to be shrewder and more strategic when it comes to new signings, rather than simply paying the premium when a player’s stock skyrockets.
The United wage cap is long overdue in the eyes of many fans, with one person remarking that “too many players are being paid way too much for what they’ve delivered”, adding that “ten Hag doing a great job and improving players and the culture around the club.”
On the other hand, many noted that if this new limit is set to be introduced, it will likely be a base rate with players still able to earn beyond that sum through appearance and goal bonuses etc.
What do you think, good or bad idea? Either way, ten Hag certainly looks to be putting his foot down.
Featured Image — Gary Neville (via Sky Sports)/ Man United (via Twitter)
Sport
Former Man United man Bastian Schweinsteiger sheds light on brutal exile by José Mourinho
Danny Jones
Former footballer and ex-Manchester United man Bastian Schweinsteiger has opened up on his turbulent time at the club, revealing some fairly shocking details surrounding his exile from the first team at the hands of José Mourinho.
The Germany and Bayern Munich legend retired back in 2019, going down as arguably one of the most revered midfielders in Europe, but some of the latter chapters in his career were less idyllic than they should have been after moving to Old Trafford.
Schweinsteiger joined the Red Devils in 2015 as a seasoned pro by Louis van Gaal but ended up enjoying only a very limited amount of playing time before ultimately departing in 2017 under the Mourinho regime in less than affable circumstances, to say the least.
The 39-year-old has never really opened up on what went ‘wrong’ during his time at Man United until now, revealing to Gary Neville that was quite literally banned from going into the dressing room on practically his first day under the Portuguese coach.
Bastain Schweinsteiger reveals he was banned from training with the United first team by José Mourinho
A pretty strange way to welcome a Champions League and World Cup winner with eight Bundesliga titles and a cabinet full of other cups to his name, let’s put it that way.
While it’s still unclear as to why exactly José didn’t want him around the first-team squad, Schweinsteiger says that former football director and then-head of development John Murtough – who recently left the club after 11 years – told him he couldn’t train with the senior players simply “because the coach said so”.
Already considered a veteran of the sport at this point, he goes on to detail how, ever the consummate professional, he proceeded to train with the under-16s instead after being given no alternative, which kicked off months of largely unexplained exile and only making very sparse appearances for the team.
Neville‘s face is understandably aghast at the revelations, going on to admit he was left “stunned” by what he was hearing and labelling Schweinsteiger’s treatment not only “embarrassing” for the club and as a fan but verging on the “illegal”.
He only made four appearances for United while ‘The Special One’ was in charge.The controversy was never made public at the time.Credit: Wikimedia Commons)/Дмитрий Голубович
Citing the only real reason that was given for banishment was that Mourinho claimed he “didn’t see [him] happy here at United”, although he did qualify that this was around the time of his injury when he also spent time recovering in Germany.
José did eventually go on to apologise for his treatment in those early days, admitting that his decision fell into the category of “feeling sorry for what I did” and in turn granted him the move to his final club Chicago Fire where he spent the last days of his playing career.
Were he to have been given a different introduction to the club and eventually integrated into the first-team squad in a less confrontational way, his time at Manchester United could have been very different.
You can watch Bastian Schweinsteiger’s full interview on The Overlap, including what he made of other players that José found ‘problematic’ like Paul Pogba down below. Safe to say it’s quite an eye-opener.
Featured Images — The Overlap (via YouTube)/Дмитрий Голубович
Sport
Rodri takes a swipe at Real Madrid tactics as Manchester City bow out of the Champions League on penalties
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Rodri has taken aim at Real Madrid for their tactics in Wednesday night’s Champions League quarter-final as the Blues bowed out of the competition on penalties.
Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the UCL final to secure the treble for Man City last season, cut an understandably disappointed figure in the post-match interviews as his side ultimately conceded the first of their three trophies in a tense night at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking to the media in the tunnel, the Spaniard was asked if he saw the game as simply being a case of two elite teams cancelling each other out and only being separated by small margins, to which he simply replied: “To be honest, today I saw only one team”.
The 27-year-old went on to note that Madrid’s gameplan was obviously to defend and “to [make us] suffer” but that they always knew how tough Carlo Ancelotti’s team would be to come up against in such a crucial tie like this.
"To be honest, today I saw only one team"
"In my opinion we should go through"
Rodri on Real Madrid's tactics, after they beat Manchester City on penalties in the Champions League quarter-finals.#ManCity#MCFC#UCL
Rodri criticises Madrid as he suggests only one team came to play.
Nevertheless, Rodri reiterated that he believes City “deserved to go through” based on their performance across the two games and given how much they tried to play during the home leg.
While Madrid were always going to try and frustrate their opposition and trying and stop Guardiola‘s squad from playing the more free-flowing, expansive game that so often suits them, they did have plenty of moments where the game looked more open and like a counter could come off at either end.
Ultimately, though, an early goal for the visitors from Rodrygo was enough to give Madrid breathing room for the majority of the game and even after Kevin De Bruyne’s explosive equaliser – which saw the stadium erupt as it looked like they might go on to win it – they still managed to eke out extra time.
As for Pep himself, he was predictably cautious of getting drawn into any big exclamations and made sure to hold back, simply reiterating Rodri’s sentiment that the performance was “outstanding” and that given stats like 32 shots attempted (a third of those on target), he could not question their commitment.
"We did absolutely everything… but they are in the semifinals and we are not."@AnitaNnekaJones chats with Man City manager Pep Guardiola after the defending champs fall to Real Madrid 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/MtFjD3zaeQ
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 18, 2024
While Rodri had a sly dig at Madrid, Pep chose to focus only on his players instead.
The admittedly ridiculous-sounding ‘Treble-Treble’ might now be off the table but with two trophies still left to defend and another potential record break on the cards if they manage to win a fourth Premier League in a row, there’s still more than enough glory to play for.
City’s next big fixture is the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea this Saturday as rivals Manchester United take on Coventry City in the other draw on Sunday.
Safe to say it’s looking very much like we could get back-to-back Manchester derby FA Cup finals.
As for the title race, the Blues have a slim two-point cushion at the top of the table but with Arsenal and Liverpool slipping up last weekend, it could prove to be the key slip-up they needed to now set the tone and finish the season strong as they often do. It’s going to be a blockbuster few weeks.
Danny Jones -
10th January 2023 
