Shearer's pounds 2.5m boot contract

Once upon a time Alan Shearer wrote Umbro a begging letter. Yesterday they wrote him a cheque worth almost pounds 2.5m.

When a teenager, the multi-million-pound Blackburn Rovers striker asked the sportwear company if they could provide him with a pair of boots. Now the boot is very much on the other foot. Shearer yesterday renewed his deal with Umbro to wear their boots for the next eight years in exchange for pounds 2.5m, which is believed to be the most lucrative of its kind.

An Umbro spokesman confirmed Shearer will receive a basic pounds 250,000 a year for wearing their boots and training equipment plus incentives for international and club success, thus outstripping the reported pounds 500,000 over four years Ryan Giggs is thought to receive from Reebok.

Shearer, who has scored 37 goals this season, admitted title success has not yet fully sunk in and continued to bypass questions over his future at Blackburn beyond next season.

The 24-year-old Shearer, who has been learning Italian, refused to discuss beyond next season at Blackburn. He will be wearing the latest version of Italian-made Umbro Speciali.