How much Barry Bannan was estimated to be paid per minute he played for Millwall | OneFootball

Barry Bannan has returned to Sheffield Wednesday following a short stint at Millwall

Barry Bannan has made the move back to Sheffield Wednesday, bringing an end to his brief, six-month stint at Millwall.

The 36-year-old Wednesday legend spent a decade and a half at Hillsborough before his move to South London, but with uncertainty surrounding the future of the Owls amidst the ongoing takeover talks with James Bord last January, he felt it was time to leave.

It was a decision that Bannan stated was a hard one to make, revealing in June that he kept holding off on moving to see what could happen with the preferred bidders, but he felt it was time to leave at that time.

The 36-year-old's loyalty was unmatched, and the general discourse throughout his time at Sheffield Wednesday, especially during their last stint in League One five years ago, was that he could easily be a part of a promotion-chasing Championship side, but decided to stay at Hillsborough.

In 2026, we got to see what Bannan at a promotion-calibre club looked like once more, as it was Millwall who secured the Scot's services on an 18-month deal. But it was evident that, at 36, his role in a top second-tier side was simply to add numbers to the midfield, rather than be a starting-level player.

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After starting every game for the threadbare Wednesday squad in the first half of the season, Bannan didn't see too much of the pitch from the off at Millwall.

At the Den, he started just six of his 14 league games and came off the bench in both play-off semi-final legs against Hull City.

Per Capology's estimates, Bannan was said to be earning £17,500 per week during his time at Millwall, which was a fair reflection on the 36-year-old's quality over the past few years. Perhaps, in hindsight, it was a slight overpay.

Indeed, the 36-year-old played just 575 minutes for Alex Neil's side, meaning that he earned around £30.43 per minute on the field at the Den.

There have been worse pound-per-minute contracts in football, but relative to the level, Millwall will file this one under one of the worst deals they have made in recent seasons, with them losing Bannan back to the club they brought him from for nothing this summer, as they themselves look to improve in the engine room with some younger, hungrier stars.

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With Bannan speaking about how hard it was for him to leave Sheffield Wednesday after over a decade of service, it was always going to be difficult for him to fully focus on the task at hand at Millwall, no matter how much of a professional the 36-year-old is.

When the takeover talks with James Bord, which was a big factor in the Scot leaving, fell through in late February, there'd have been some wondering whether Bannan would have been better off sticking it out and staying at Hillsborough.

The speculation that if David Storch and the Arise consortium had been the initial preferred bidders, then Bannan would have stayed, was confirmed this summer, when the midfielder returned to the club he calls home.

So, perhaps the writing was on the wall throughout the latter stages of the recent campaign surrounding Bannan's eventual departure.

Either way, it hasn't gone down as great business at Millwall, and they'll be keen to push forward with the likes of Jenson Metcalfe and Mathis Servais arriving in the middle of the park this summer.