Where are they now? Man Utd’s highest-paid player from every post-Ferguson season

Manchester United have quite the reputation when it comes to handing out lucrative contracts, but what are their previous highest-paid players up to these days?

The Red Devils haven’t won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but they’ve certainly handed out some lucrative contracts in the meantime.

Using figures provided by Capology, we’ve found Man Utd’s highest paid player from every season since 2013-14 and have checked out where they all are today.

Wayne Rooney

Earning a reported weekly wage of £180,000, Roney was the clubs joint highest paid player in 2013-14. Given his scoring record and years of service to the club, it’s understandable that he was once their top earner.

After taking up some punditry roles over the summer, Wazza has since thrown himself back into management and is set to take charge of Plymouth Argyle next season.

His managerial record pales in comparison to his record as a player, but the 38-year-old still has time to make a success of his coaching career yet.

Robin van Persie

Along with Rooney, Van Persie was also earning £180,000 per week in 2013-14 and was the club’s top earner. His Old Trafford stint was short but sweet as he scored 58 goals in three seasons for the club.

The Dutch forward called it quits on his playing career in 2019 and like Rooney, he’s also gone into coaching in his post-playing career.

After four years of working at Feyenoord as assistant manager, he recently joined fellow Dutch club Heerenveen as their new head coach.

Radamel Falcao

The Colombian forward didn’t pull up many trees during his loan spell in Manchester, but he was being paid a king’s ransom for his services.

Still technically on the books at Monaco during the time, Falcao was earning £285,000 per week in 2014-15 and was subsequently the highest earner at Old Trafford that season.

Believe it or not, but aged 38 he’s still playing to this day. After spending the last three seasons in Spain with Rayo Vallecano, he recently returned to Columbia and signed for Millonarios.

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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every Man Utd signing since Sir Alex Ferguson retired?

Bastian Schweinsteiger

We can’t quite believe it, but Schweinsteiger was reportedly the highest-paid player at the club in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

Despite only making 18 league appearances during his two years at the club, the German midfielder was taking home a whopping weekly wage of £240,000.

United fans never really got to see the best of Schweinsteiger and the former Bayern Munich man has been critical of the way he was treated by the club.

“I was very sad because United was the second club of my heart,” Schweinsteiger told the Overlap when discussing his second season at the club.

“On my birthday, when I walked into (United’s training ground) Carrington, (football director) John Murtough was there and said that I wasn’t allowed to walk into the dressing room – the coach had said so.

“I had to ask him to bring me my cleats and training gear. I asked him who I was training with, and he said there was the under-16 team, so I went and trained with the under-16s.”

Since hanging up his boots, Schweinsteiger now works as an analyst for German television broadcaster ARD.

Alexis Sanchez

The less said about his United stint, the better. Upon his arrival from Arsenal in 2017-18, Sanchez became the highest-paid player at the club, taking home £350,000 per week.

It’s fair to say that the transfer was a total disaster and it wasn’t long before the Chilean star was sent packing.

Thankfully, he’s managed to get himself back on track in recent years. Since leaving United, Sanchez has won five trophies, including two league titles with Inter Milan.

As of writing, Sanchez is now a free agent after his contract with Inter recently came to an end.

David De Gea

The Spanish goalkeeper became United’s highest earner in 2019-20 when he signed a fresh deal with the club which was worth a staggering £375,000 per week.

There can be no denying that De Gea once ranked as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, but his drop-off in form did coincide around this time.

Since leaving the club last summer, he’s still yet to find himself a new club. Plenty of sides have registered an interest in the 33-year-old, but he’s in no rush to commit to a new club.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every goalkeeper to play for Man Utd in the Premier League?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Upon his return to the club in 2021-22, Ronaldo was handed a highly lucrative contract, worth £515,000 per week – making him the highest-paid player in the club’s entire history.

While he scored plenty of goals in his first season back at Old Trafford, it didn’t take long until he upset the applecart and prematurely had his contract cancelled.

He’s now scoring goals for fun in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr and is on an even more lucrative contract. As per Capology, he’s currently earning £3.2million per week which makes him the highest-paid footballer on the planet.

Casemiro

Upon Ronaldo’s departure, Casemiro became the club’s highest earner with a weekly salary of £350,000. He’s been linked with an exit this summer but is still under contract with the club until 2026.

For context, the 32-year-old is currently the third highest-paid player in the Premier League with only Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne currently earning more than him.