Rooney riding off into sunset
WAYNE ROONEY goes off on his summer holiday with a huge question mark hanging over his future for club and country and plenty to occupy his mind on the sun lounger. A few hours after dropping a big hint he will quit Manchester United after 13 illustrious years, Rooney faced up to what looks like the beginning of the end of his England career. Gareth Southgate tried to soften the blow of leaving him out of his squad for the games against Scotland and France by suggesting he could fight his way back next season. But with younger men such as Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Adam Lallana, Jamie Vardy and team-mate Marcus Rashford all now ahead of him and his 32nd birthday approaching in October, that scenario looks unlikely. By the start of next season Rooney will almost certainly be with a new club. A four-minute things,” he said. “I have things that nobody else has. No manager won in Spain, Italy and England.
“In these three countries I won all the competitions, not just the league. So there are things that I’m really proud of.
“But not at this club. In this club it makes me feel that I did nothing, especially because you have two legends [Busby and Ferguson] in terms of titles and trophies.
“I feel that I am nobody. I feel I always have to prove myself. I just feel that what I did in this club is not enough appearance as a substitute in the Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm on Wednesday was further confirmation that manager Jose Mourinho no longer regards him as first choice in the games that matter.
As club captain, Rooney was afforded the honour of lifting the trophy in the Friends Arena. But, as at Wembley in February when he climbed the steps to raise the EFL Cup without even getting on the pitch, he must have been left with a hollow feeling.
He says he has offers from home and abroad and has “more or less” made up his mind about his club future but will discuss his options with his family over the next few weeks before making to deserve to be here.” Mourinho is satisfied, however, with the rewards from what he admits has been the hardest season of his career. But he has already started planning for next season by handing United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward a £200million list of transfer targets understood to include the names of Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku, Eric Dier and Michael Keane.
United could buy three or four players to strengthen the squad for the Champions League and a bid to recapture the Premier League title. Mourinho also defended his public criticism of several United players this season and hailed Marcus Rashford as the type of character he likes. “For me, what’s more difficult [as a manager] is the fragile mentality,” he said.
“I like to squeeze the player, and for the player to cope with it and react to it.
“I think it’s probably my weakness as a manager, that it’s difficult for me to understand people with a different mentality to mine.
“Sometimes I ask my assistants to help me on that because maybe they have a different profile to me.
“Because I want to be in love with the player with make now – whether I want to continue doing that or go on and play more regular football.”
Rooney started only 25 of United’s 64 matches this season, coming on as a substitute in 14 more but feels he is fit enough to have played a lot more.
“I still believe I could have played all 64,” he said after a campaign in which he scored only eight goals, his lowest tally since moving to Old Trafford from Everton for £28million in 2004.
“I still feel I’ve got other qualities that can help the team and, as I said, it’s a decision I’ll make in the next couple of weeks.”
Rooney will also reconsider his declaration after England’s Euro 2016 shambles that his ambition was to bring down the curtain on his international career at next year’s World Cup. Southgate made it clear yesterday that scenario will depend on if he is playing regularly and well enough next season while leaving him in no doubt about the size of the challenge.
Having cited a lack of playing time as the reason for omitting him from the games against Germany and Lithuania in March, Southgate said that although Rooney has been given more regular starts in recent weeks after Mourinho gave up on United’s challenge for a top four place, he simply has better options to choose from in both the No10 and centre-forward berths.
Southgate was careful to stress he was not bundling Rooney into the wilderness and pointed to his recall of 34-year-old Jermain Defoe as encouragement for Rooney that it is not over.
But the feeling remains he is now yesterday’s man and will have to somehow turn back time to make the seven appearances he needs to overtake Peter Shilton’s 125-cap record. this character, with this personality, and that kid Marcus is the best example of it, especially in this club.”
Ander Herrera launched a charm offensive to help to lure Griezmann to United by claiming he has the ability to become the world’s best player.
Herrera, man of the match in the Europa League final, said: “Griezmann is a brilliant player, a phenomenon. He is a star and all the teams in the world would want him.
“I’ve said it in the past, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he is in that group of those that can become their successors.”