As expected, following the huge number of stories in the press this week linking Wayne Rooney with a move away from the club, Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted the player is staying put.
Like usual, Ferguson has banned the journalists for printing stories about Rooney, with The Independent not allowed to attend today, as well as Liverpool supporting Ian Ladyman from The Daily Mail.
“The Wayne Rooney issue first?” he asked at the start of his press conference. “Or do you want to talk sense? The issue you’re all going on about in the papers is absolute rubbish. I’ve banned two papers from the press conference and they won’t get back in here until they apologise. There is absolutely no issue between Wayne Rooney and I. To suggest we don’t talk to each other on the training ground is absolute nonsense. He understood the reasons for not playing him and that was completely tactical. And I think I was right. We don’t always get it right but I think we did get it right. Danny Welbeck is the best player we have in terms of operating in a double role. We had to choke Xabi Alonso’s ability to control the game, which Danny did, and that took away Alonso’s control of the game and his ability to go further forward and be an attacking player. We don’t always get it right but we definitely did on Tuesday.”
Ferguson claims that Rooney will be a United player next season. That may very well be true, but if Ferguson is planning on selling Rooney, he was hardly going to announce it at the press conference today. Let’s not forget that Fergie also said he wouldn’t sell that “mob” Real Madrid a virus, before selling Ronaldo to them. He also categorically ruled out the sale of David Beckham two months before selling him too.
“Wayne will be here next year,” he said. “You have my word on that. I have no issues at all with the player and he’ll be involved on Sunday.”
