The 10am meeting between Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill did not take place but you have to wonder what will be said later today when they do talk.
It appeared as though it was a done deal with City, regardless of Robert Mancini’s assertions of the contrary. The Evening News certainly think this is the most likely outcome but they are notoriously inaccurate for transfer stories these days. Ozil and Sneijder were ‘done deals’ too. Whilst I would still guess this is the most likely destination for our deserter, primarily because even Chelsea won’t scratch the surface of City’s salary offer for him, we should consider other options.
Staying in the North West would be the ideal, but after that, staying in England is desirable. Chelsea are the only club that would make sense for him to join IF you are to believe a word of his statement. They finished one point above us last season, courtesy of that ridiculous goal against us at Stanford Bridge and the fact we played for most of the season without a defence. Still, that one point made all the difference. If Rooney is leaving United for trophies, they’d be the best bet.
But will the manager let him go to our biggest title rivals? Would he let him go to our noisy neighbours and give them bragging rights? He might not have a choice but he will be looking for a better solution.
He needs to get Pep and Jose on the phone ASAP. Whilst it seems difficult to imagine the Rooneys leaving England there is still the possibility. Playing alongside Ronaldo/Messi would be far.more tempting than anything teams in this country have to offer. Get Becks and Ronnie on the phone and let them talk up how amazing Real is. If its ambition he’s looking for for, those Spanish teams will continue to sign far better players than the English ones. They have a better chance of winning the European Cup too.
For us, obviously it would be far better if he left the country. Whatever we want to say about him now, we loved him and we actually believed it meant something when he kissed our badge. When he told us repeatedly he wanted to stay forever we lapped up every word. It’s not just us he’s conned though, its football fans across the country. If there was any player you believed had love of the game as his primary motivation it was him. So he had us all fooled.
Rooney went three seasons before winning the league with us. When he signed in 2004 we weren’t half the team we are now. Arsenal and Chelsea had walked all over us. The following season it was even worse! Our situation now is a fantasy compared with what was predicted for us in the dark days of 2005. Rooney wasn’t trying to leave when the dreadful Richardson and Scottish player were starting for us in midfield, when Keano angrily walked out of the club following his accurate rant after the 4-1 against Boro, or when Ruud was shipped off to Real. But now, after finishing 2nd by one point, it all became too much for ‘ambitious’ Rooney to bear.
Jose, sign him up! Jose, Jose sign him up!
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