Wayne Rooney: Manchester United captain at the centre of war between Nike and adidas

Rooney is currently paid £1m-a-year to wear Nike boots

(Getty Images)

German sportswear giant adidas are to battle bitter rivals Nike for one of their star attractions, Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney.

Despite his stuttering form this season, Rooney remains the most marketable English player in world football and is currently paid £1million-a-year by Nike to wear and advertise their products, including football boots and leisurewear.

According to The Sun, adidas are keen to bring Rooney into their stable especially with Manchester United now a huge part of the company's future.

Rooney, 30, currently earns £4.5m per annum on top of his salary from various sponsorship deals.

But adidas would likely increase his pay, with Gareth Bale currently the highest-paid to wear their products; the Real Madrid forward earns a reported £5.5m-a-year from adidas.

Rooney continued his Premier League struggles in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday and now has just two league goals in 10 matches this season

United are without a goal in their last three matches and manager Louis van Gaal criticised the squad for failing to create chances - in fact, the Dutchman's team have created the third fewest in the division, trailing only relegation candidates Aston Villa and Sunderland.

"I cannot see that it is a mental block. When I see the characters, I don’t think they doubt their quality," said Van Gaal

"It can change in one match and let it be versus CSKA Moscow because we need a victory.

"Of course it’s causing me concern but when you are creating chances I cannot complain.

"After the match against Middlesbrough I thought we created a lot of chances to finish and then it is more concerning.

"Nevertheless, we had chances today which we could finish and then you win this game. So we have to improve that."