MANCHESTER UNITED will spend a staggering £90million in wages to keep four of their stars.

The club are splashing the cash on mega salaries for Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Michael Carrick as the quartet tie up lucrative new deals.

Brown and Carrick have followed Ferdinand by agreeing contracts which means in the last week United have committed themselves to £52m in wages.

And Portuguese genius Ronaldo, 23, is ready to seal a five-year, £150,000-a-week deal in the summer, taking the total figure to £90m.

Carrick, 26, was only two years into a four-year deal. But United have tied down the midfielder until 2012 and his weekly pay is set to rise from £50,000 to £70,000 a week.

Defender Brown, 28, was poised to leave Old Trafford on a free with his contract up at the close of the campaign but talks this week have ended a season-long wrangle.

Brown was one of the lowest paid players on a basic £30,000 a week plus £10,000 for every game played. But he has clinched a four-year contract worth around £60,000 a week.

England ace Ferdinand, 29, has agreed a new deal worth £120,000 a week over four years.