Wayne Rooney has reportedly shunned contract negotiations with Manchester United and privately admitted his willingness to cross the Mancunian border and join the blue revolution following a monumental breakdown in relations with Sir Alex Ferguson.
United must now gauge Rooney’s market value and decide whether to sell him during the winter transfer window or wait until the summer when the strikers value may have dwindled. Conversely Ferguson may seek to repair the acrimony that has festered in recent weeks since Rooney’s private life became tabloid fodder.
The damage though is allegedly irreparable and unlike previous falling’s out involving United icons, it is the player who might have the final say and not Ferguson.
Things are said to have soured between the two in the wake of reports in national newspapers of Rooney’s affair with the prostitute Jennifer Thompson. Ferguson reportedly blamed his striker for bringing his club into disrepute before omitting him from the side that travelled to Everton, on the grounds of the “vile” abuse Rooney would receive, and Valencia due to a persistent ankle injury suffered last season in Munich.
Or so Ferguson said. What has transpired since is that Rooney may have been left out of the squad, like he was left out of the starting XI on Saturday, as punishment for his off-pitch behaviour and his blatant contradiction of Ferguson’s assertion that he was injured during an interview.
This, coupled with United’s staggeringly sluggish and, according to Rooney’s camp, underwhelming contract talks has created the perfect storm over Old Trafford.
The odds on Rooney leaving in January have been slashed to 2/1 but the suitors are limited to new football money with Manchester City and Chelsea potential buyers. The thought of Rooney, for most fans the quintessential talismanic leader, wearing the blue of City would be unbearable for most of the United faithful. But it would take the most short –sighted to rule it out. Rooney has after all already ditched Everton (“once a blue, always a blue”) for greater riches and success at United. Who says he will not do the same to the Manchester club like Carlos Tevez did last summer. Rooney may even look to Tevez as an example of the adoration and opportunities he would command.
Although Chelsea have become more prudent in more recent seasons a move for Rooney could be viable despite Abramovich’s remuneration and transfer fee ceiling. A potential stumbling block could be Rooney’s apparent reluctance to move away from the north: a factor that may render Real Madrid and Barcelona a undesirable destinations.
Where would this leave United? Ferguson has repeatedly stated his admiration for Rooney and how his desire fuels his own to continue at the helm. As loss such as this would therefore hurt Ferguson and consequently United. Who would the players look to for that decisive moment? Who would fans urge to beat everyone in front of them? The irony may be that Rooney, a player bought to succeed Van Nistelrooy, has no natural heir and this may be another reason why the striker seeks to ply his trade elsewhere, somewhere where the burden is less strenuous.
Indeed it has been rumoured that Rooney is concerned at the lack of quality players brought in and vision of the future at the club. Having won 6 major trophies at United and sitting unbeaten in the current season you must wonder quite what Rooney’s idea of a successful future is.
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