There comes a point when a player’s more trouble than he’s worth, a maxim Manchester United fans may want to consider in the moments they’re not celebrating, lamenting, and coping with the departure of their beloved manager. Now’s a time to reflect on both an unparalleled past and a sobering, uncertain future, and while today’s new forces another topic into the discussion, it shouldn’t have to be a time to deal with a melancholy star’s career crisis.
But if Sir Alex Ferguson’s impending retirement was Saturday’s main event, the Wayne Rooney saga turned into the undercard, with the departing manager confirming post-match that the club’s focal point has handed in a transfer request.
“We have refused it,” Ferguson told the media at Old Trafford, explaining the club’s response to Rooney’s desire to move. “I think he should go away and think about it again, but it’s not my decision now.”
“He wasn’t happy about being taken off a few times this season but a Wayne Rooney in top form wouldn’t be taken off.”
Rooney was notably left out the game day squad for Ferguson’s farewell, the United manager explaining the attacker was not “keen” to play after handing in his transfer request.
Having just finished his ninth season at Old Trafford, Rooney has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and, as of this week, Bayern Munich. Whispers of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Chelsea have also entered the conversation, with incoming manager David Moyes left to decide Rooney’s Manchester United future.
The former Everton star broke into the Premier League as a 16-year-old under Moyes only to leave two years later for Manchester United. Though the departure was contentious, Moyes and Rooney are understood to have since made up. Whether that means Moyes will fight to keep him in United’s crowded attack remains to be seen. With Robin van Persie, Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck, Rooney’s departure may not be felt.
Should they decide to sell him, United should be able to command a decent fee for a player who, while on extremely high wages (reportedly over $19 million per season), has two more years on a contract extension he signed in 2010. Though those wages might push the fee down into the high teens or low 20 million Euro range, that’s still enough to motivate a sale.
During his time with the Red Devils, Rooney’s scored 197 goals in 400 all-competition appearances. He’s been a part of five Premier League title winners, a European champion, and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup winners.
But over the last half of the season, he’s also been shown to be expendable, and with the player’s career crisis unfolding while the team celebrates a title and sees off a legend, it may be time for United to say goodbye to a once favored son.