José Mourinho: Wayne Rooney will stay at Manchester United
Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has stated his belief that Manchester United’s want-away striker, Wayne Rooney, will stay at Old Trafford.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sent shockwaves across Europe after announcing the 24-year-old striker wants to leave the club at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, but despite signalling his interest in the England international, Mourinho is of the opinion that Rooney will not leave the Premier League giants.
Speaking after Real’s 2-0 Champions League win against AC Milan at the Bernabeu, the former Chelsea and Inter Milan coach told Sky Sports News: "He probably wants to leave for some reason but I believe he belongs to Man United, he belongs to Man United fans, he belongs to Old Trafford. I believe he is going to stay."
"But if at the end of the day Man United decide that he is to leave, then give me a call," Mourinho added.
With Ferguson approaching his 69th birthday, there’s been much speculation over who will replace the legendary Scot when he calls time on his managerial career. Mourinho is the current strong favourite at this stage, and it’s possible that the Portuguese is looking at the Rooney situation long term, with a view to managing the player at Old Trafford himself one day in the near future.
Mourinho also admitted that Real Madrid wouldn’t be the only club interested in Rooney’s services over the forthcoming weeks, accepting the fact that they would face stiff competition for his signature.
"Everybody will be interested," he said. "But I like him, I like Sir Alex, I like Man United and I believe the best thing for him is to stay there for life."
Rooney may not hold the same opinion at this tense time, and the prospect of Mourinho managing the world-class striker shouldn’t be ruled out.
But it could well be that it happens in Manchester – not Madrid.
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