New megabucks contract for Patrice Evra
MANCHESTER UNITED are to follow Wayne Rooney's new deal with a megabucks contract for Patrice Evra.
The Old Trafford giants will raise Evra's pay from £70,000 a week to £100,000 a week in a four-year agreement.
That will set them back £20million - on top of Rooney's £65m, five-year bonanza.
And it will allow boss Alex Ferguson to send a message to big-spending neighbours City that United will not be outmuscled in the pay stakes.
Left-back Evra, 29, has a contract that runs until June 2012. The new deal will tie the French captain to Old Trafford until he is 33.
It puts the boot in on Barcelona and Real Madrid, who had both previously shown an interest in taking him to La Liga.
Evra has already indicated he is keen to stay at United and the deal should be completed in the next few weeks with no major hiccups.
Last week the Frenchman was one of the most outspoken players in the Rooney contract episode, insisting that any player who does not trust his team-mates should not be at the club.
The news will delight Reds fans, who have grown increasingly nervous in the light of City's determination to bring in the biggest names regardless of the cost.
City's wage bill rocketed to £133m in the last year, overtaking United and closing fast on Chelsea.
Old Trafford power brokers have stuck to their policy of ensuring wages are less than half their turnover, in accordance with UEFA's imminent financial fair play rules.
And chief executive David Gill insists he has no fears about United being left behind because of Sheikh Mansour bankrolling City.
Gill said: "I'm not concerned by that, as ever since we have been a public company we have had a policy that wages should be 50 per cent, or less, of turnover.
"We believe we can do that and still retain and attract the stars we need.
"We think that's the sensible model. Clubs have other models, that's their prerogative. Each to their own."
United have matched Chelsea on the pitch in terms of silverware since Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge.
Gill added: "That's exactly right. We have remained competitive."
United's latest financial figures revealed the club's annual wage bill is £131.7m.
Chelsea's is £142m, City's £133.3m and Arsenal are fourth- highest on £110m.
United's wages are 46 per cent of turnover, the lowest ratio among the current Premier League clubs.
Arsenal have the next lowest on 49 per cent, while City spend more on wages than their total revenue.
The healthy wages-to-turnover ratio is one of the reasons that United are confident that they will meet UEFA's financial fair play rules - despite the sums they have to pay out in interest to service the loans taken out by the Glazer family when they bought the club back in 2005.
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