Wayne Rooney will go down as one of the best to play for Man United, but he could have ended up at Chelsea.
In the same way that Estevao Willian has taken the Premier League by storm as a teenager, Rooney was doing things at Everton that caught the attention of all the top sides.
That naturally includes Chelsea, who were eyeing the Englishman before he made the switch to Old Trafford.
Rooney has recently discussed the Blues’ interest in him, and what they would have done if he said yes to a Stamford Bridge move.
Wayne Rooney and John Terry playing during Chelsea vs Man United
Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images
Wayne Rooney shares Chelsea’s loan plan for him
Rooney would go on to become one of the best the Premier League has ever seen, but at the time when he was plying his trade at Everton, he was just a highly touted youngster.
It’s no surprise then to hear that Chelsea were pursuing his signature back in 2004. The Chelsea from 20 years ago was just as keen on young talent as the modern version.
Appearing on NBC Sports, Rooney recalled: “Everton wanted to sell me to Chelsea, and then Chelsea wanted to send me on loan to Middlesbrough, but I had no intention of signing for Chelsea.”
What a signing that would have been for a Chelsea side that was on the precipice of something great.
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Chelsea did fine without Wayne Rooney
As much as it would have been an absolute joy to see an all-time great like Rooney enter his prime in West London, Chelsea won’t feel too regretful.
The very summer that Rooney made his United move was the summer that Jose Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge.
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As we all know, he would take that side to English football dominance, helped in large part by the man brought in after Rooney’s rejection — Didier Drogba.
Those two players reached similar heights. Sam Allardyce reckons Drogba was better than Rooney.
Sure, signing a talent like Rooney would have been a huge success, but Chelsea didn’t do too badly without him.