Mourinho and Wenger believe Rooney will stay
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho admitted that he would love to bring Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney to Real Madrid, but said that he expected the unsettled striker to stay at United despite of the recent drama which has erupted between Rooney and
Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rooney seems determined to leave Manchester United, the England international refused to sign a new deal at the club and Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Rooney wishes to quit. The news has started speculation and endless rumours as to where Rooney will
end up next.
Mourinho made no secret of the fact that he wanted Wayne Rooney at Madrid, if the England forward ended up quitting Manchester United. The Special One said that there was no club that did not want to acquire the services of the 24-year-old striker, however
he believed Rooney would choose to stay in the end.
Mourinho told reporters, “My thoughts are he will stay. He probably wants to leave for some reasons, 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 day
Man Utd decides that he is to leave, give me a call.”
The Portuguese manager said he would love to take Rooney to the Bernabeu and would like to pair him up once again with former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, but admitted that the best thing for the striker was to stay at Manchester United under the guidance
of Ferguson, whom Mourinho still holds in the highest regard.
Ferguson claimed that the door was still open for Rooney to sign a new deal and revealed that he was not only disappointed but shocked at Rooney’s refusal to sign a new contract. He felt the striker had failed to respect the club and said he had done everything
to keep him at United, but now the decision was solely his own.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger agrees with his old nemesis Mourinho, he felt the United striker would remain at Old Trafford and overcome the apparent feud with Ferguson. He felt that Ferguson’s decision to leave Rooney out of the West Brom game was justified
and had just been blown out of proportion by the media.
Wenger told reporters, “Rooney is a great player. I am convinced he will stay at Manchester United because it is his club. They have the power to keep him. When you give a great player a rest, you have a story. Rooney is Rooney. He will stay where he is.”
Despite of the speculations and rumours that predict Rooney will stay, the striker himself is determined to leave. He insisted that his desire to leave was not because of money but ambition. He now has 18 months left on his current contract and so far has
not tried to renew his contract.
The disillusioned striker told reporters, “It is absolutely true, as he said that my agent and I have had a number of meetings with the club about a new contract. During those meetings in August I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club
to attract the top players in the world.”
He said that it was not financial motivation which had encouraged him to seek a move away from United, but the club seems to have come to a standstill. He rejected Ferguson’s claim that he did not respect Manchester United, saying that he had complete respect
for the club which had been his home for the last six years.
The United striker reiterated that he wanted to win trophies and insisted he was justified in asking questions about the clubs future. However, in the end he mentioned that he would always owe something to Ferguson despite of their recent difficulties, who
had always been an exceptional manager and mentor.
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