Wayne Rooney has revealed that he ended up staying at Manchester United, despite holding talks with Barcelona in 2010.
It has been eight years since Wayne Rooney left Manchester United and re-signed for Everton.
Rooney, 39, left Old Trafford after becoming United’s record goalscorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances. It’s a record he will keep hold of for many years unless Ruben Amorim can identify a striker capable of matching or beating it.
From United’s first-team, including loanees, Marcus Rashford is the closest to reaching Rooney’s record with 138 goals. Bruno Fernandes is next on the list after scoring 95 goals.
Following several stints as a manager, most recently at Plymouth Argyle, Rooney now works as a pundit and columnist sharing his opinions on the beautiful game.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney had talks with Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2010
Many United fans will remember Rooney’s infamous transfer request in 2010.
A falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson led to Rooney handing in a transfer request as teams from around Europe chased his signature.
Of course, Rooney would change his mind by signing a new long-term contract at United.
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In a new column for BBC Sport, Rooney reacts to Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to virtually agree to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid at the end of the season.
Rooney referenced his transfer request in 2010 as he weighed in on Alexander-Arnold’s future, revealing that he was also tempted to leave Old Trafford for La Liga.
“When I told Manchester United in 2010 that I didn not want to sign a new deal and put in a transfer request, three clubs came in for me,” Rooney wrote.
“Manchester City are often talked about as being one of them, but I don’t think that was ever an option for me – the teams who made an approach were Chelsea, Real and Barcelona.
“In my head, I was ready to go and play in Spain and some talks did take place. A deal with Real looked more likely for a couple of days but it was Barcelona whom I thought about the most, and how I might fit into their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andreas Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
“In the end, I decided to stay at United, but Barca had an incredible team then and any player would have loved to have played in it. Real are the same now with superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, so of course it must be appealing to Alexander-Arnold to think about playing alongside them – anyone would feel the same.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold is no Gary Neville
Not only was Gary Neville a better defender than Alexander-Arnold, it looks like there is only one winner when it comes to loyalty.
Alexander-Arnold could leave his boyhood club in the summer, however, Rooney thinks a move to Spain would benefit the right-back.
However, it shows that there are few one-club men like Neville in the modern game.
Rooney added: “He has been at Liverpool for almost 20 years – since he was six but the reality is that most players move at some point – that’s why there are so few one-club men like Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher.
“I would not blame Alexander-Arnold for wanting to do something a little bit different – like a fresh challenge in a new country – Spain would be a really good move for him.”
Only time will tell if the current United squad will have any one-club men. Kobbie Mainoo seems to have what it takes to spend his entire playing career at Old Trafford.
What Lionel Messi said about Wayne Rooney
Lionel Messi has nothing but admiration for Rooney’s ability as a footballer.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner told Shortlist in 2015 that Rooney could provide competition for La Liga’s top players at that time, namedropping him when asked which footballers he thinks would have been suited to La Liga.
“If you look at the technical ability of player like Wayne Rooney, he is as good as any player in Europe,” Messi said, as quoted by The Mirror.
“Rooney has exceptional quality. Not just great technical ability, but also works very hard for his team. I’m sure Manchester United will never want to let him leave, though.”