A Manchester United contract signed by a player in 1965 shows just how much of an impact money has had on football, with the goalkeeper being paid £35 per week for his services to the club.
Pat Dunne signed for Manchester United in 1964, with a contract posted to Reddit revealing the salary the club offered him to retain his services. The two-year contract, which stretched from July 1, 1965 to June 30, 1967, saw Dunne being offered just £35 weekly in order to stay with Man U, compared to the £200,000 picked up by current United goalkeeper David de Gea. His transfer fee was £10,500 – a far cry from the rumoured £17.8 million offered to the Spaniard currently guarding the club’s goal.
When adjusted for inflation, Dunne would have been taking home roughly £641 per week, amounting to around £2564 per month. This resulted in a yearly salary comparative to £30,768 in the current value of the Sterling, which was still almost double the average household salary in 1965 (the median weekly wage was £19.11), but nowhere near the wages currently being taken home by today’s footballers.
Take a look at the contract below:
Dunne made 45 appearances for Man U before moving to Plymouth Argyle in 1967. He spent most of his career playing for the Shamrock Rovers, where he played for 8 years picking up 158 appearances. He also played for the national Republic of Ireland Squad. He became a goalkeeping coach for the Shamrock Rovers in 2004, and passed away in September 2015/
