Has an eminent football club ever actively discussed extending the contract of a certain starter whilst reducing his salary?
That is the situation Manchester United are in with David de Gea. It is an admission of De Gea's decline and hardly a ringing endorsement of his No.1 status.
Certain senior figures at United are not convinced. Some have reservations about De Gea as the No.1 beyond this season and others over the renewal United have been negotiating with him for upwards of a year.