How much Middlesbrough FC and Millwall offered Sheffield Wednesday’s Barry Bannan in wages | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday fans will be delighted to hear that Barry Bannan turned down these offers to remain at Hillsborough.

Barry Bannan turned down offers from top Championship clubs such as Middlesbrough and Millwall that amounted to three times his current salary to stay at Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

The 35-year-old is a legend at Hillsborough, and despite his contract running out in June, there was almost no doubt he would remain a Wednesday player, even though the club's future was uncertain at the time.

Bannan reported back for pre-season training this past summer, despite not being under contract at the time, and finally signed a new deal with the club just over a week before the 2025/26 campaign began.

This was despite a plethora of his teammates departing the club that summer due to multiple late wage payments, seeing greener grass away from Hillsborough, and, according to reports from The Times, Bannan was offered a lucrative deal elsewhere, too, from the likes of Middlesbrough and Millwall.

However, the Wednesday legend turned them down, reaffirming his commitment to the club.

How much Barry Bannan turned down per week from Middlesbrough and Millwall to stay at Sheffield Wednesday

With Bannan out of contract for a month during the summer, it's no surprise that rival Championship clubs were wanting to bring the 35-year-old in.

Over the last 10 years, the Scotsman has been one of the premier midfielders in the EFL whilst at Wednesday, leading the club into multiple Championship play-off campaigns, as well as a few in League One, too.

His class in the centre of the park doesn't go unnoticed, and according to the Times, Middlesbrough and Millwall, the sides currently sitting second and sixth in the Championship respectively, were ready to break the bank to bring him in.

Bannan said that he received "big offers" from "stable clubs," around three times the wage he is currently on, said to be around £7,000 per week, meaning his offers would've been around the £21,00-week region.

Spending that much per week on a veteran player could raise some eyebrows if it were any other player, but Bannan is still operating like he was a decade ago when he walked through the door at Hillsborough, with three goals and two assists in 15 Championship appearances this season, and would have been useful in a side pushing for promotion.

But Bannan's loyalties lie deeper than that, and he was willing to remain at an unstable Sheffield Wednesday side destined for relegation on much less per week.

Middlesbrough and Millwall rejection will only serve to delight Sheffield Wednesday

There arguably isn't a bigger cult hero at Sheffield Wednesday than Barry Bannan, and these recent reports will only emphasise that sentiment.

The Owls captain has stuck through Wednesday through the highs and more frequent lows that the club has had over the past decade, from Championship play-off finals to years in League One and then near liquidation in more recent times.

Bannan's new contract announcement came days after the club's wages were delayed for a fourth time in five months. The players had refused to play their final pre-season friendly against Burnley, and there were questions surrounding their fulfillment of the Championship opener against Leicester City.

After what he'd done for the club, nobody would have held it against the captain to jump ship with the rest of the key players from the Wednesday squad, but Bannan stuck with his club, and his retention was a rare bright spark in what was a dark time for the Owls.

Wednesday may still end up playing in League One next season, but they'll be going down fighting with their loyal skipper by their side.