Football is big business and the best agents negotiating brilliant deals for their players but the irony sometimes is that some under-performing stars earn higher than others on fire.
At Manchester United, Marcus Rashford is on fire since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of the club following the sack of Jose Mourinho in December.
The England international has made 22 appearances in the league this season, scoring nine goals and has been resurgent under interim Norwegian boss.
However, Rashford costs the Red Devils just £767 per minute this season compared to Chilean international Alexis Sanchez, who receives £16,000-a-minute.
According to research from TheSportsman.com, Rashford earns £45,000 per week and has racked up an astonishing 1,525 minutes of premier league action.
That makes the 21-year-old amongst the lowest-paid stars in the Premier League in terms of wage compared to minutes played unlike Sanchez that earns a whopping £505,000-a-week wages.
Sanchez, 30, has struggled since he moved to Old Trafford and this season – he has scored just once in 14 Premier League games but despite all, the Chilean is being paid £15,601 per minute of action.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace star Pape Souare has earned £630,000 per minute, having played just ONE minute this season on his £30,000-a-week wages.
Scott Dann has earned £480,000 for his sole minute in the league this season – while Georges-Kevin Nkoudou has raked in £218,750 per minute at Tottenham.
At least they have played some football, though – unlike Danny Drinkwater who’s earned £2million this season, despite not playing a single minute.
Nine other Prem stars have broken the £1m-barrier through not playing either, including Eliaquim Mangala and Simon Mignolet. At the other end of the scale, Rashford is still somehow nowhere near the lowest-earners.
In fact, West Ham ace Declan Rice – who recently swapped his international allegiance from Ireland to England – tops that list.
Earning just £3,000 per week and having played 2,026 Prem minutes in 2018-19, Rice is technically earning just £38-a-minute.
Denis Odoi has earned £109 for each of his 2,215 minutes played, while five other players including Ryan Sessegnon and Aaron Wan-Bissaka earn under £200 per minute.
In August 2018, prior to the 2018–19 season, Rashford was given the squad number 10, after the release of the club’s previous number 10 – Zlatan Ibrahimović. On 2 September, Rashford was sent off in a 2–0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor after clashing heads with Phil Bardsley.
Rashford scored his first goal of the season on 29 September, United’s only goal in a 3–1 loss to West Ham United.On 3 November, he scored again, providing a winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time in a 2–1 win over Bournemouth.
On 1 December, Rashford provided both assists in United’s 2–2 draw with Southampton, with the goals coming from Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera. The following Saturday against Fulham, he provided two assists for Ashley Young and Juan Mata before scoring the final goal in a 4–1 victory.
On 12 December, Rashford came on as 57th minute substitute for Brazilian midfielder Fred and scored a header in the 87th minute in a 2–1 loss to Spanish team Valencia in the final group stage match of the UEFA Champions League.
On 22 December, Rashford scored in the 3rd minute of Manchester United’s first match under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, in which United beat Cardiff City 5–1.
On 30 December, Rashford scored against Bournemouth again in his final game of 2018, also assisting Paul Pogba’s first goal in United’s 4–1 victory over the Cherries. During United’s first match of 2019 on 2 January, Rashford assisted the Red Devils’ first goal from a free kick and scored the second in a 2–0 win over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
On 13 January, Rashford scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium. He scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season on 19 January in a 2–1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion.
On 2 February, Rashford was announced as Manchester United’s Player of the Month for January 2019, as well as winning United’s goal of the month for his strike against Tottenham.
A day later, he made his 100th league appearance for the club and scored the only goal in a 1–0 away victory over Leicester City. In doing so, he became the second-youngest player, behind Ryan Giggs to reach the milestone for the club.
His recent impressive performance earned him his first Premier League Player of the Month title, becoming the first United player since Zlatan Ibrahimović in December 2016 to win the monthly league award.
S