ROONEY OUT
Wayne to exit Old Trafford as Chinese offer £35m deal
WAYNE ROONEY has decided to quit Manchester United after accepting that his career at Old Trafford is coming to an end.
United’s record goalscorer is unhappy with a reduced role under manager Jose Mourinho and has told friends he is leaving after nearly 13 years at the club. He is determined to go on his own terms.
A source told Sportsmail last night: ‘The writing is on the wall for Wayne. He can see what’s happening. He’s playing less and believes he still has a lot to give. He won’t want to continue here like this.’
The United captain has a £35million-a-year offer on the table to play in China, where the transfer window closes next Tuesday.
Mourinho last night refused to offer any assurances that Rooney will stay, saying: ‘Of course I can’t guarantee. I can’t guarantee that I’m here next week, so how can I guarantee that a player is here next season?
‘What I can guarantee is that if one day Wayne leaves the club, it’s not because I want him to leave.
‘I would never push a legend of
this club to another destiny. You have to ask him if he sees himself staying in the club for the rest of his career or sees himself moving. ‘It is not a question for me because I am happy to have him. I was very open with you in the answer. I don’t want him to leave.’ Sources close to Rooney insist it is unlikely that he will move to China before next week’s deadline. He also has interest from Major League Soccer in America, while Everton are keen to re-sign him, but his £230,000-a-week wages are prohibitive. Rooney (right) has been marginalised as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial contest the forward roles. He has not started a Premier League game since December 17. Despite having 18 months left on his deal, with the option of a 12-month extension, Rooney accepts that it is now time to leave. And with United hoping to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid in the summer, a parting of the ways appears to be in the best interests of player and club. He missed the last two games with an unspecified illness and what was vaguely described as a muscle injury. He then trained with the squad yesterday for the first time in a week, but did not travel with his team-mates for tonight’s Europa League tie in Saint-Etienne. It’s ironic that when Rooney was put on the bench for England’s draw with Slovakia in Saint-Etienne at Euro 2016, Roy Hodgson faced criticism for
resting his captain. Eight months on, his absence here at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard was again the centre of attention last night, but the debate has changed. There were no longer questions about the impact arguably the greatest English player of his generation could still make. That has been in decline for some time. Instead, the debate surrounded his future at United beyond the end of this season, even beyond the end of next week. The answers from Mourinho were far from emphatic. The manager’s decisions this season speak for themselves. Rooney has more Premier League appearances as a substitute than a starter. He has become a cup specialist, a Thursday night man wheeled out for Europa League duty. Ibrahimovic has taken over as the star man. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has seized the No 10 role Rooney hoped to make his as he enters his 30s. Mourinho also has Juan Mata and Paul Pogba to fill that role. Rooney might have broken Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record for United, but that accolade has come against the tide of change at Old Trafford. Indeed, surpassing Charlton’s mark of 249 goals only removed one of the last remaining ties that was keeping Rooney at United. His influence has diminished. When he missed those last two games, it passed without much notice. Only the China speculation, coinciding with his return to training yesterday, brought the questions that have overshadowed United’s Europa League second leg in France. Rooney will miss the game — United are 3-0 up — and probably the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. After nearly 13 years at the club, will he ever play for United again? It is a valid question. This is a slicker, faster team and Rooney doesn’t fit in. He will have seen the warning signs. It’s why he has confided to friends his United career is drawing to a close and that he is determined to leave on his own terms. It has always been the way with Rooney. On two occasions in years gone by, he held all the aces in contract talks with United. Now, he can pick his next move. There is also wife Coleen and their three sons to consider. The family are settled in Cheshire. Rooney is also known to want to extend his international career and any move to China or the USA would almost certainly finish it. As Hodgson and Mourinho have both discovered here in Saint-Etienne, Wayne Rooney is still big news.