Wayne Rooney - Money could ruin sport

In the midst of the anguish of hardworking people losing their jobs and being faced with crippling mortgage repayments, the Wayne Rooney saga playing out in Britain is nothing short of obscene.

People are suggesting that he will be transferred for something in the region of £95 million (€108m) and he will be paid around £6m a year.

Television rights to games are being sold for enormous figures, and the players are naturally demanding a significant slice of the profits. These costs are then being passed on to spectators.

Professional boxing used to be the most popular pay-for-view sport. For the first three-quarters of the last century, the world heavyweight champion was the most respected sportsman in the world.

Now there are several different versions of the world heavyweight title – WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO. Yet even sport enthusiasts would be hard pressed to name the holder of even one of those titles.

We should learn from their mistakes. There are signs that a similar creeping lunacy is infecting other sports, with outrageous ticket prices being asked for certain games. People will not be able to afford to take their children and this will ultimately hurt those sports.