For his current run of poor form, Wayne Rooney was already all over the place (and press) but ever since he dropped the bombshell that he was intent on leaving Old Trafford early this week, his coverage in the English media has more than tripled.
For his current run of poor form, Wayne Rooney was already all over the place (and press) but ever since he dropped the bombshell that he was intent on leaving Old Trafford early this week, his coverage in the English media has more than tripled.
It’s from there (English media) that the rest of the world has been feeding for their debates on the England striker, whose departure from Manchester United after six fabulous years (looked) as good as set for January.
Until he dropped another bombshell by agreeing to a five-year deal on Friday. Just two days after he had released a statement indicating his intention to leave United because, according to his statement, Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t have any more money, enough to buy world-class players.
In other words, United could no longer meet his expectations!
But in this entire hullabaloo, the main question had been where the Everton academy graduate would next set up camp.
Talk was already becoming rife in England and Premier League fans across the board that, for the pull of the oil-money at United’s crossroad rivals, City, Rooney could do the unthinkable and swap red for sky blue.
Apart from Manchester City, currently the richest club in the world, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid have also been mentioned as possible destinations for the want-away striker.
With just 18 months remaining on his existing contract and the fact that he wasn’t going to sign a new one, selling him in January was always going to be the best option that United had or else they lose him for next to nothing at the end of the season
So, if he was to go in January, which is now more of a certainty than a possibility, not more than two three clubs, among them Man. City, Chelsea and Real Madrid, would afford his signature. By joining City, he knows what to expect, and for the sake of his family, he had to make a bold decision that could go on to determine the rest of his career.
Believe you me, this was a time for Rooney to make what is possibly the most difficult decision of his life, not just as a footballer but as a man, by leaving United, he had other options but in actual sense, staying was always going to be the best of all (parties).
City have the money to meet all Rooney’s demands, but with the Tevez (Carlos) dust still settling on the streets of Manchester, it would be seen, at least on the red side of Manchester as outright betrayal from a player, who they had made.
So, with City out, the next real possibility and that’s where most analysts’ fingers were pointing, was Real Madrid, where Jose Mourinho, a self-confessed admirer of the England striker was waiting in the wings to jump at any chance but had already predicted that the troubled player would stay at OT.
Rooney is, a player I have never regarded (no pun intended) as a real world-class act. The British media builds him up and the fans, including a couple I mingle with everyday, fall for it. The man is no more than just good.
Like most English players, he’s just overhyped and so overrated, and so what if he had not listened to his heart and decided to stay at OT, but rather gone with what his head and perhaps his agent was telling him and went to join his old pal Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid, what would have been the chances of him fitting (well) into the Spanish style of playing footie?
That we’ll never know, now that he has committed to Manchester United, not to two or three but five odd years! That’s what they call doing business, and I believe Rooney all along knew what he wanted and when he got it where he’s, what would be the need for jumping ship to go into the unknown waters?
I know you must be wondering why I came up with this headline about a man, who is tens of hundreds miles away, but, it’s true the man is silly, not that he managed to squeeze the best possible deal out of the OT money men but for, he waited until I was about to finish writing my article, (the one you’re reading) about his next destination, before making his decision to stay at Old Trafford.
I was looking forward to keeping an eye on one of the most overrated footballers I have ever seen kick a football in anger, in La Liga, but instead he choose to offer United fans an early Christmas and New Year present.