Wayne Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford is in China with the Manchester United striker’s future still up in the air.
The club’s record goalscorer has been the subject of interest from the Chinese Super League and a move before the end of their transfer window – next Tuesday, February 28 – could hinge on whether he features in the squad for this weekend’s EFL Cup final.
The striker’s future is the talk of football. Here’s what his former team-mates having been saying – along with the latest news and rumours from across the media.
What his former team-mates say
Paul Scholes
“I don’t think he should go. Wayne is a player who wants to play football every week,” Scholes told BT Sport. “This will be hurting him at the moment. He’ll get frustrated, I don’t see him hanging about if he doesn’t play in the big games.
“He’s only 31, he’s still got time to fight his way back into the team.
“I don’t see China as being the right place to him. He’s a family man. It doesn’t seem the right place for him. Whether he’ll go back to Everton for a year or two, I don’t know. America might be more suited to him. The lifestyle will be better over there.
“There are good players in this team and I hope there’s still a bit of fight left in him.”
Michael Owen
“He always speaks his mind,” Owen told BT Sport. “I would guess he doesn’t need to say anything to Jose, he will know he wants to play all the time. I’m pretty sure he’ll be having a word in the manager’s ear.
“If Ibrahimovic is scoring goals like he is, you can understand why he’s not getting a look-in at the moment.
“He’s still got this child-like enthusiasm for the game. It’s an awkward situation, almost an inevitability. But it’ll be really interesting to see how it pans out.
“China have come in and changed the whole market. He is getting on, he will be looking at his future, his family’s future. If he’s going to go, I think that’s where he’ll go.”
Roy Keane
“No way Wayne Rooney should be going to China,” Keane told ITV. “He can still play football at the top level in England, Germany, Spain, Italy.
“Going to China? Madness.
“He’s 31 years of age, there’s plenty left yet for Wayne Rooney to do in Europe.”
Manchester United’s Rooney, Keane and Scholes leave the pitch after losing to Chelsea during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford
Keane says it would be “madness” for Rooney to move to China CREDIT: IAN HODGSON/REUTERS
What the papers are saying
Paul Stretford, Wayne Rooney’s agent, is in China speaking to potential suitors for Rooney, who could earn as much as £1million per week, according to The Sun.
Man Utd will allow Rooney to move if Stretford can secure a contract for the striker by Tuesday, The Mirror report.
Rooney’s departure from Old Trafford is ‘highly unlikely’ before the end of Tuesday, according to the Daily Mail, who report the Man Utd captain will leave the club in the summer.
Rooney’s potential move to China is on hold until the summer, according to The Express, as the striker heeds the advice of former team-mate Carlos Tevez, who is struggling to settle in.
Mourinho
Jose Mourinho’s pre-Europa League press conference comments, where he told reporters to ask Rooney about his future, were seen as ‘unhelpful’ by the striker, the Daily Star report.
Rooney remains unhappy at the lack of game time he is getting, the Guardian report, but will wait until the summer before leaving the club.
Man Utd will pay-off the remainder of Rooney’s contract – around £15.6million – if he decides to leave in the summer, even though they have no obligation to do so.
And Carlton Palmer, who is based in China, told talkSPORT: “I think he’s better than that, I think he’s got more to offer in the Premier League. If Manchester United don’t want him, plenty of other clubs will.”
