Source: Telegraph
Wayne Rooney prepares for £4.3 court battle with former agents
The document, drawn up by Proactive when the Manchester United and England player was still only 16, carried punitive clauses if he ever decided to break it. [LNB]Rooney's barrister, Paul Chaisty, QC, told a judge at Manchester Mercantile Court: 'As if to add insult to injury, they were entitled to 20 per cent commission on contracts negotiated with third parties even though they might expire many years in the future.'[LNB] Related ArticlesRooney the main manFerdinand risks ban from Carling Cup finalRooney: Arsenal win was best display of seasonFerdinand risks missing Carling Cup finalRooney is now the complete playerSport on televisionRooney's contract with Nike, for example, was not due to expire until 2017, by which time Proactive would have been 'making money out of Mr Rooney for 14 years'. [LNB]At the time the contract was signed, in July 2002, Rooney was being guided by his parents. It was clear that, aside from a fleeting association with a lawyer, they had taken no independent legal advice before their son signed the contract with Proactive. [LNB]The allegations emerged as Proactive pursued a £4.3 million claim against the footballer and his celebrity wife, Coleen. [LNB]Lawyers for the firm claim the couple have refused to pay commission fees for the past 15 months. [LNB]Ian Mill, QC, for Proactive, said a raft of lucrative contracts had been drawn up by its one-time employee, the controversial agent Paul Stretford, who was sacked in October 2008. [LNB]But he insisted that the firm as a whole was behind the contracts and was therefore entitled to receive both past and future commission payments. [LNB]He rejected suggestions that the claims against the Rooneys were 'exploitative' and 'financially driven'. [LNB]
