It wasn’t the best of Saturdays for Wayne Rooney, who got the combo of starting on the bench, only to be called on by Alex Ferguson in the 68th minute and leave the match before Manchester United completed their 3-2 win over Fulham due to an injury. But it hasn’t been the best of summers for the England international altogether.
Alex Ferguson said one very interesting thing after the win over Fulham – I really respect players who clearly want to play for us. And it has always influenced me when it comes to deciding who we should go for. The reverse is equally true for me because if I hear that a player has fallen out of love with us and is looking elsewhere I invariably help them out the door.
Now, this could also be regarding to Nani, but several sources at Old Trafford say that it isn’t only about the Portuguese winger. The United boardroom has been unhappy with Rooney’s fitness during the preseason, his early form and his overall attitude and behavior off the pitch, regardless of the scandals that pop up here and there but obviously those didn’t hurt.
Rooney wasn’t left out of the lineup just for the sake of rotation. His dull performance against Everton last week and his poor fitness to kick off the season paved way for Robin van Persie to grab Rooney’s spot in the starting lineup instead of playing alongside him, ahead of Shinji Kagawa. Rooney has already played on the left wing for United in previous seasons, but seeing him drop out of the first team plans might suggest that Alex Ferguson is finally sick of Rooney’s attitude towards the club.
It wasn’t that long ago, only two years, when Rooney seemed to be on his way out and across the road to Manchester City. Some say it was a matter of hours that separated his departure. Seeing Rooney living it up in Las Vegas right after a poor Euro 2012 didn’t help his stocks with the manager, who knows what kind of player, but also person, he has under him. Maybe he actually feels its time that Rooney’s talents and productions aren’t worth the hassle, and it’s time to offload him to someone else.
Where? There will be plenty of buyers – Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG, we didn’t forget. The price? Don’t expect anything less than £45-50 million, but on the other hand, don’t expect to see a progression in this direction soon. It’ll come out of nowhere, when you least expect it.