Wayne Rooney arrived at Old Trafford in August 2004 for £25.6 million — a world record fee for a teenager. He was 18. What was less reported was the contract that came with him.
Rooney's initial deal paid him £50,000 a week. This was more than most senior players in the squad, and more than any club had ever paid a teenager. It created immediate tensions in the dressing room that Fergie had to manage personally.
The Everton fallout was significant. David Moyes — then Everton manager — has never fully forgiven Old Trafford for the way the deal was conducted. Rooney's contract at Everton had a gentleman's agreement that he would not be sold to a direct rival. United qualified as exactly that.
The clause that triggered everything: a buyout clause worth £20 million, inserted three years earlier when Rooney signed his first professional deal. Everton's lawyers missed it. By the time they found it, Rooney had already agreed personal terms with Ferguson.