Rooney to leave Manchester United in January?

In what they call a ‘World Exclusive’ report, The Mirror is reporting that Manchester United’s star striker Wayne Rooney, yet unable to find his form this season, will quit the club in January. The report states that the relationship with manager Sir Alex Ferguson has broken down and the damage is beyond repair, after the Scot was not impressed with what happened in Rooney’s private life. The Mirror states that Sir Alex told Rooney that his behaviour has affected the club’s reputation badly. Newspapers had already reported that talks over an extended contract for Rooney have stalled, and now it is believed that Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill will have to sanction the deal after the rift between Rooney and the manager.

Should this happen, the effect would be much larger than the cases of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. A club wanting to get the services of Rooney will have to pay a huge chunk of its transfer budget, possibly close or exceeding the transfer fee paid for Cristiano Ronaldo. It is no surprise that the clubs mentioned that could acquire Rooney’s services are Real Madrid and Barcelona. Quite surprisingly however, the newspaper also mentions Manchester City and Chelsea, which is quite an unthinkable route for Rooney to take. It is reported that the relationship broke down when Rooney was left out of the squad for the match against Everton. Ferguson said that he was protecting the striker from fan abuse, while Rooney was saying that the decision was driven by the manager’s disgust about the allegations. Rooney has played a lesser part in the Man Utd campaign recently, and Ferguson said he was injured, while Rooney came out saying that he has been fit all season.

Ferguson had even asked the striker to withdraw from the England squad to face Montenegro, something that the striker refused to do, played 90 minutes for Capello’s side, and then told the press that he had always been 100% fit, contradicting his boss’s statement about the ankle injury. Ferguson and Rooney had been like father and son, with respect on both sides. But it seems that, according to reports, Rooney has disagreed with his boss so much that their relationship has come to shatters. United fans will not accept the sale of the superstar, and a move by the Glazers to cash in on him will lead to more fans turning against their ownership. Despite interest from Spain, Wayne has repeatedly stated that he does not want to move abroad or to London. That puts Manchester City in pole position to sign him if Rooney wants revenge on Ferguson. But imagine how he would be treated by Manchester United fans if that were to happen…