England teenage sensation Rooney joins United

Manchester United completed the signing of England teenage sensation Wayne Rooney from Everton on a six-year contract in a deal worth up to 27 million pounds (40 million euros)

Manchester United completed the signing of England teenage sensation Wayne Rooney from Everton on a six-year contract in a deal worth up to 27 million pounds (40 million euros).

The 18-year-old, who scored four goals at the Euro 2004 tournament, passed a medical with the club and all the details were finally agreed.

The deal was completed with four and a half hours to go before the closure of the transfer window.

United will pay Everton a basic 20 million pounds, with half to be paid immediately and the other half due on August 1 2005.

There are contingent payments totalling up to an extra seven-million pounds dependent on the fulfilment of various clauses over the next five years.

Rooney's representatives, Pro-Active Sports Management Ltd, could be paid 1.5 million pounds - depending on Rooney's loyalty to United - for their role in the acquisition of the player and the negotiation of his personal terms.

The striker, having lit up the English Premiership in the early stages of last season, will have to wait before playing for the Red Devils as he is currently recovering from a foot injury he picked up at Euro 2004.

It was in Portugal that Rooney saw his value rocket after he outclassed his England peers by scoring four goals before Sven-Goran Eriksson's men bowed out at the quarter-final stage.

Manchester United completed the signing of England teenage sensation Wayne Rooney from Everton on a six-year contract in a deal worth up to 27 million pounds (40 million euros)

Newcastle last week had been the first club to bid for Rooney, although their offer of 20 million pounds was immediately rejected by bosses at Goodison Park.

Everton manager David Moyes had been hoping that Rooney would change his mind on their own offer of a lucrative five-year deal that would have seen him earn in the region of 50,000 pounds (90,000 dollars) a week.

But over the past few days Moyes had all but resigned himself to losing his star striker, and stuck a 30-million-pounds-or-nothing price tag on him.

Speculation over Rooney's possible departure from the club had been rife since his return from Portugal.

Newcastle made an initial bid of 20 million pounds having collected the money from the sale of defender Jonathan Woodgate to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

United simultaneously denied they were interested in signing Rooney, but days later they also bid 20 million pounds for the teenager.

Newcastle upped their bid to 23.5 million, which was also rejected. United then tabled their final bid and before long United's chief executive David Gill was in negotiations with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright.