Christian Eriksen's summer switch to Manchester United has worked out so favourably for both parties, both may wonder what could have been when the Red Devils first registered an interest in 2019.
Four years ago, when United were still under the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club made it clear that Eriksen was a priority target of the summer transfer window. So keen were they, that United are reported to have even offered to treble the then-Tottenham star's wages so that he would pocket an eye-watering £240,000-a-week.
However, as many teams have found down the years, trying to persuade Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to sell one of his prized assets is incredibly difficult. The task is made even harder when the potential buyers are a direct Premier League rival like United.
As a result, a deal failed to materialise and he put pen to paper on a deal with Inter Milan instead just six months later. Just over a year and a half later, Eriksen was told he was not permitted to play in Serie A games due to the presence of a defibrillator he had implanted following his on-pitch cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.
Perhaps fate would have at that Eriksen was destined for Old Trafford all along, as following his Inter exit and a six-month loan spell at Brentford, he finally got the chance to don the red of United under a man he knows well in Erik ten Hag.
July 2022 saw the Red Devils confirm they had landed Eriksen on a three-year deal without having to pay a single penny of transfer fees in the process.
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After his short loan in west London had ended, the playmaker was a free agent and thus Ten Hag swooped at the chance to secure the former Spurs man on a free.
Not only did United bypass any transfer fees, the fact that Eriksen was out of contract meant Ten Hag could entice Eriksen to Old Trafford without having to cough up to astronomical wage the club offered him four years prior when he was still a Spurs player.
With that being said, it is still a higher figure than the £80,000 he was earning every week in north London.
As per the Daily Star, Eriksen is taking home a handsome £150,000 per week on his current United contract. This number sees the Denmark international's earnings remain in line with the club's recently implemented 'Ronaldo rule'.
This was designed so that, unlike the times when Cristiano Ronaldo would earn £500,000 per week, no one at the club boasts more than £200,000 weekly to prevent players from earning significantly more than their teammates.
Eriksen has been well worth the money United pay him, playing his part in the Carabao Cup triumph earlier this campaign though his season has been marred by a serious knee injury sustained in January that he has only just returned from.
