DANNY WELBECK raised eyebrows last year by rejecting a whopping £140,000 contract in order to sign for Brighton.
The former Manchester United was offered a a lucrative pay day in Turkey after his release from Watford but opted to stay in the Premier League.
Welbeck has shown glimpses of his former potential for the Seagulls, and has netted six goals for the club in 25 outings.
It’s never been confirmed how much the ex-Arsenal striker is pocketing on the South Coast, but the Turkish offer is believed to have been more than double the amount.
Welbeck, though, is not the first player to snub a mega-money contract – and he won’t be the last.
We’ve taken a look seven of the biggest rejections in football history, below…
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Weekly wage rejected: £1.7m
Club: Unnamed Chinese Super League side
THE Portuguese star left Real Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus in a £99million deal.
However, that summer, he was offered a staggering £1.7m A WEEK to join an unnamed Chinese Super League club.
Ronaldo rejected the offer and instead opted for a ‘mere’ £540,000 per week.
LIONEL MESSI
Weekly wage rejected: £1.7m
Club: Unnamed Chinese Super League side
MESSI, too, was offered a staggering £1.7m a week to move to China in 2018.
The Argentine was reportedly subject to a bidding war – but the man himself extended his stay at Barcelona.
Messi quit Barcelona this summer, and is set to earn £30million a season for the next two years.
JOSE MOURINHO
Weekly wage rejected: £540,000
Club: Guangzhou Evergrande
IN the summer of 2019, Mourinho was still out of work having been sacked by Manchester United in December 2018.
And he was approached by CSL side Guangzhou Evergrande – who were willing to pay him £540,000 a week to take over BEFORE bonuses.
That would have made him easily the best-paid boss in the world.
Mourinho rejected the job and ,just months later, would go on to succeed Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham.
JUAN MATA
Weekly wage rejected: £220,000
Club: Unnamed Saudi Arabian club
Last year, the Man Utd star was offered what would surely be his last bumper pay-day.
Now aged 32, Mata has impressed with his cameos this season but knows he will struggle to cement a place in the starting XI.
Despite that, the Spanish former Chelsea ace opted to turn down a deal worth £220,000 per week in Saudi Arabia and stay at Old Trafford – at least for now.
DAVID LUIZ
Weekly wage rejected: £220,000
Club: Unnamed Qatari side
IN the spring of 2019, Luiz was still at Chelsea when he was offered a three-year deal at a Qatari side, worth £220,000 a week.
However, the Brazilian rejected that offer and instead opted to join Arsenal in a £9m move.
His most recent contract was worth around £130,000 per week – nearly £100k shy of the sum offered from the Middle East – at Arsenal.
But now he’s a free agent after leaving the club.
WILLIAN
Weekly wage rejected: £210,000
Club: Shanghai Shenhua
Before Arsenal swooped, Shanghai Shenhua tried to poach Willian from Chelsea amidst his contract stand-off.
The CSL side offered him £210,000 per week for three years – the length of contract the Brazilian was demanding at Stamford Bridge.
They also offered him a flat, two chauffeur-driven cars and plane tickets to sweeten the deal.
Willian stayed put in London and opted to move to the Gunners instead. Now, he has returned to Brazil with Corinthians after terminating his bumper deal with the North Londoners.
LUIS SUAREZ
Weekly wage rejected: £500,000*
Club: Unnamed Chinese Super League side
IN December 2019, Suarez was seemingly very happy at Barcelona – unaware he was set to fall-out with the club in just a few months.
But, happily living in Barca with his family and friends such as Lionel Messi, Suarez refused to have his head turned when a CSL club came knocking.
It’s not known exactly how much he was offered but many reports claimed it would have almost doubled his money.
Suarez was on £290,000 at Barca ahead of his move to Atletico Madrid – suggesting the offered wages were in the £500k per week ballpark.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
