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Manchester United are ready to sanction Wayne Rooney’s transfer to China inside the next month.

And the deal on the table means that the England captain will make more money in three seasons in the Far East than he has in 17 years in the Premier League with United and Everton .

A number of Chinese clubs have made it clear they are prepared to offer Rooney a contract worth a bank-busting £140million.

That is less than the £1million-a-week some sources have claimed, but Roo will still overtake £650,000-a-week Carlos Tevez as the world’s highest-paid footballer by some distance.

Sunday Mirror Sport understands that the move has been approved by boss Jose Mourinho and the United hierarchy.

(Image: Alex Livesey)

While the European transfer window closes on Tuesday, China’s mega-rich clubs can keep recruiting until February 28.

For the next four weeks an auction will develop to tempt 31 year-old Rooney before the next Chinese Premier League season starts in March.

The marketing value of buying the current captain of United and England is massive in China.

Rooney’s former United team-mate Carlos Tevez overtook both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the superstar pay stakes when he recently signed for Shanghai Shenhua.

(Image: Getty)

There has been a growing feeling inside Old Trafford that the parting of the ways with Rooney was imminent even though he has 18 months remaining on his current £300,000 a-week contract.

That means United will save more than £20million on wages alone as they look to put together a package to tempt Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann in a world-record £100million deal next summer.

United and Rooney want to part on good terms.

Senior United officials accepted recently that they would review Rooney’s future once he had broken Sir Bobby Charlton’s goal-scoring record as the club’s most lethal marksman.

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With that record in the bag Rooney is now ready to review his options. It is likely to be a club in Shaghai or Beijing that will have the funds to recruit him - but all options are being considered.

Unless United are hit by some major injuries to their attacking talents once the transfer window closes on Tuesday it seems Rooney will be joining the lucrative Chinese exodus.

The move will cast doubts about Rooney’s England future.

(Image: PA)

Rooney has won 119 caps - more than any outfield player - and has also taken the nation’s goalscoring record off Sir Bobby with 53 international strikes.

He is just six appearances short of breaking Peter Shilton’s England appearance record.

Rooney has already announced that he will quit international football after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

But new Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate made a real statement when he dropped Rooney from his team for the qualifier against Slovenia in October.