Rooney Wins £4.3m Agency Pay Case
Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has defeated an attempt by his former agents to sue him for £4.3m in a payments dispute.
Rooney was accused of withholding commission on multi-million pound deals that were brokered by sports management firm Proactive, who used to represent him.
The former Everton player was signed by Paul Stretford in 2002 but the agent then took Rooney with him when he left Proactive in 2008.
Proactive had argued that contracts for Rooney and his wife Coleen were brokered by Stretford while he was still at the firm, therefore they were still due the 20% commission – that amounted to £4.3 million.
Judge Brendan Hegarty QC ruled that the original contract Rooney signed with Proactive amounted to a “restraint of trade” as it was up to eight years long when the Football Association recommended a maximum of two years.
