Wayne Rooney has revealed how he nearly joined Middlesbrough - with the proposal ultimately setting in motion his eventual move to Manchester United.
Rooney would become a Manchester United legend after joining the club from Everton in the summer of 2004. Only 18 at the time, he’d already made 77 appearances for his boyhood club and had been capped by England, which naturally made him hot property at the time.
He would go on to become Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer, but his career might have been very different. In the same summer he moved to Old Trafford, Rooney revealed that Chelsea were also keen - one year on from Roman Abramovich’s takeover. A deal between Everton and Chelsea was even agreed, only for Boro to prove a dealbreaker.
Speaking on his podcast The Wayne Rooney Show, he recalled: "When we were at the Euros at Euro 2004, Everton had agreed a deal with Chelsea for me to sign for them and I had no knowledge of that whatsoever. And then my agent then went and spoke to Abramovich and their team basically and they said, yeah, they wanted to sign me, then send me out on loan to Middlesbrough.
“It was like, no chance! To be honest, me going to London at that time, it just didn't make sense at all. So, the minute I knew Manchester United were interested in me, that was the only place I was going to go, really."
Chelsea weren’t the only club Rooney almost joined before Manchester United’s late move. It’s been well-documented over the years that Newcastle United were very keen, with moves made by the Tynesiders ultimately prompting the Red Devils into action.
"I think, if I'm being honest, Alex Ferguson wanted to wait another year,” he said. “And then Newcastle kept coming in and I would have gone to Newcastle if United didn't sign me then. It got to the last day and then [Everton chairman] Bill Kenwright wouldn't send the forms over.
“And Bill, God rest him, was very emotional. And I'm a local lad from Liverpool playing for Everton. It was massive. And he actually got on the phone, put his mum on the phone to me when I was at Old Trafford, then he got on the phone and he was crying down the phone.”