Rooney silences Chinese whispers but still struggling to salvage career at Man United
Wayne Rooney has put a potential move to China on hold but the Manchester United and England captain is fighting a losing battle to salvage his Old Trafford career, with manager Jose Mourinho already having found his likely replacement in Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
Rooney, 31, will consider his options at the end of the season, when he will have 12 months left on his £ 300,000- a- week ($ 520) contract at Old Trafford, but is expected to leave the club if he remains a peripheral figure under Mourinho, with China or the United States likely destination.
Rooney was considering a move to the Chinese Super League before the close of their transfer window on Tuesday, where he stood to earn £ 32 million a year after tax.
With the full knowledge and support of United, Paul Stretford, Rooney’s adviser, has been in China this week for talks with the player’s suitors.
But after discussions with Stretford and his wife, Coleen, Rooney felt his personal and professional interests and those of his family would be best served by remaining at United for the next few months. As well as being concerned about the sudden upheaval to his three young children — Kai, Klay and Kit — Rooney has been unable to make his own assessment of how and where living in China would work, a process that would require more time.
From a football perspective, Rooney was also unwilling to turn his back on the prospect of more silverware, with United in the League Cup final against Southampton and challenging for the FA Cup and Europa League.
Rooney has form for stepping back from the brink of career- changing moves, notably performing an 11th hour about- turn in order to stay at Old Trafford in October 2010 after coming close to leaving.
Nonetheless, Rooney appeared to keep the door open to a move to China by thanking clubs for their interest in him. In a carefully worded statement Rooney said: “Despite the interest which has been shown from other clubs, for which I’m grateful, I want to end recent speculation and say that I am staying at Manchester United. It’s an exciting time at the club and I want to remain a part of it.”
Contrary to suggestions that Rooney and Mourinho have not talked for weeks, there has been no rift between the pair, even though the player was surprised to hear his manager claim on Tuesday that he could not guarantee Rooney would stay and that the ball was in his court.
Mourinho has succeeded in gradually phasing the striker out of the team and United are some way down the line to securing a deal for Griezmann, whose £ 85 million release clause they are prepared to trigger at the end of the season in the hope of having the player in place for early July.
Atletico want to keep the Frenchman for another season but they are already scouting for potential replacements, with Griezmann’s compatriot Alexandre Lacazette a leading target. If Rooney moved to China or the US, United would not only secure a reasonable transfer fee for the player but free up space on the wage bill for Griezmann, who stands to earn a package comparable to the £ 290,000 a week earned by his close friend, Paul Pogba, at Old Trafford.
Emmanuel Petit, the former France midfielder, became the latest figure yesterday to claim Griezmann was United- bound. “I think he will come to Manchester United, definitely,” Petit said.
Whether Mourinho opts to involve Rooney more now his short- term future has been resolved remains to be seen but he has completed 90 minutes just twice since December. His club record 250th goal against Stoke last month was his first in the league since August 14.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford, Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard are all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Tianjin Quanjian, Jiangsu Suning, Beijing Guoan and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao are among the clubs to have been linked with moves for Rooney.
But as well as interest from China, Rooney is understood to be high on the list of targets for Los Angeles FC, the new Major League Soccer franchise, before they join the MLS in March next year. LAFC want to recruit a “global” star and Rooney is one of 10 names being considered.