So it has now been confirmed. The amount the press knew and the credibility and collective knowhow said as much, but once Sir Alex Ferguson goes on record saying that Wayne Rooney wants to leave, then he wants to leave.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the now slightly inconsequential Bursaspor encounter, Ferguson revealed that Rooney’s first inhibitions about staying at Old Trafford were raised during the summer, when initial talks about extending his contract past 2012 hit an impasse.
Although the lid has been relatively kept on the breakdown until recently, the situation is now in the public domain and given Ferguson’s statement that his striker is ‘adamant’ he wants to leave, there seems only one conclusion to the scenario.
What has yet to be fully clarified is what has changed Rooney’s stance since last season when a transfer away from United seemed a very distant proposition. Ferguson went to great lengths to lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of Rooney and his advisors, by saying, “Only months before he was saying he was at the greatest club in the world. I asked to have a meeting with the boy. He reiterated what his agent said, that he wanted to go.”
It appears the issues behind Rooney’s desire to leave run deeper than the financial complexities of a new contract. Although it is commonplace for the various parties to play hardball over contract negotiations, Rooney’s team would have taken a more tactile approach to proceedings had it been his genuine intention to stay. The grim prospect facing Reds fans now is that their best player wants to leave, and it looks like he will be leaving.
The conundrum Sir Alex Ferguson and the club board will have to decide is when they let their man go. There will be no shortage of suitors for the current Premier League Player of the Year, yet unlike previously when United have sold key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham, this transfer will be hard to conclude on their terms.
The balancing act Ferguson and Gill must get right is between selling for the right price, whilst doing the best for team issues. Come the summer Rooney will only have 12 months left to run on his current contract, and commanding anywhere like his full transfer value would be difficult. The fee could potentially be larger in January, but invariably the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona would prefer a summer transfer where United could instigate a bidding war, but with Manchester City lurking, the timing may be irrelevant.
From a playing perspective, Rooney’s contribution to the United cause this season has been minimal - a penalty against West Ham his solitary strike of the campaign. Apart from the goals, the 24-year-old’s performances have been substandard, and on current form would barely be missed.
The lack of an on form and focused Rooney is one factor to the Reds sluggish start to the season, and given the inevitable media scope against the backdrop of knowing the player wants to leave, the players performances and therefore those of the team are hardly likely to improve. Ferguson has also been reticent in the past to shoulder the burden of players causing problems, and Rooney’s continued involvement with the first team squad could have detrimental effects upon the rest. It is therefore highly unlikely, unless Ferguson can reverse Rooney’s decision, that the famous United number 10 shirt will adorn Rooney’s name into 2011.
What makes the whole affair even more unpalatable for the Red Army is that in pole position to acquire the England striker would be their nearest but not very dearest neighbours. Given the credence of the press reports thus far, comments attributed to Rooney suggesting he is open to a move to the blue half of Manchester should not be taken lightly. City do not want for cash or ambition, and would be in a position to launch a bid at any time, something Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea may not.
An intriguing subplot to this news is how the Glazers respond. A hefty pay increase and reassurances about future investment in the team could appease Rooney’s woes. However, on the back on the recent announcement of net losses of over £80m in the last year, the margins between selling their star player, and shelling out on a bumper contract and world class reinforcements would be impossible to bridge.
It is something that will not go unspoken when United fans congregate for an anti-Glazer march ahead of their next home league fixture with Tottenham on October 30.
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