Before indulging in the movements that decorated Wednesday, it is pertinent to ask what remuneration the players who sometimes entertain, sometimes depress, are worth. Juventus, the Milan clubs and Real Madrid were reported to be keen on Keane to the extent of doubling the value of his contract, which was due to expire in June. United maintained that it would not break its pay scale to accommodate one player. Keane's calm Irish lawyer said the captain knew his worth and would not sign for less. It was the employer who blinked.
English society is divided.
There are those who think it abhorrent that a sportsman outearns, say, a brain surgeon. Others point to U.S. salaries in sports, or to the 1 million per race the Ferrari Formula One team pays Michael Schumacher. They argue that a person is worth what the market will pay. Alex Ferguson, the United manager who backed Keane's demands, knows that it is double-edged deal. Keane represents the fighting spirit, the rock on which Ferguson builds teams, but Keane's pay packet will set the benchmark.