Wayne Rooney believes the fact Manchester United will not meet
his new contract demands is a symptom of the club's decline.
He wants the Red Devils to invest in him and the rest of the
team, so they can push again for domestic and European glory.
Instead, debts approaching £800million under the Glazers are
dragging United down and friends say Rooney is not prepared to go
the same way.
The fact there is a Blue Moon rising across at Manchester City,
where they have endless millions to spend, makes those concerns
even more acute.
So what price Rooney joining City just like Carlos Tevez
did?
Astonishingly, some bookies make Rooney more likely to be at
Eastlands next season than Old Trafford.
He is 5-2 to be at City and 7-2 to still be at United. If City
really want Rooney they can blow anyone out of the water - Real
Madrid and Barcelona included - and meet whatever wage demands the
player's camp throw at them.
It is not as if Rooney bleeds United red, either. He is still an
Evertonian, even though he no longer plays for them.
Football is Rooney's job and he will go where he believes is
best for his career and his bank balance.
United do not have to sell, of course, but Rooney's market value
will decline considerably with only 18 months left on his current
contract.
When Rooney and his advisers began exploratory talks with United
about a new deal, figures ranging between £150,000 a week and
£200,000 a week were being bandied about. Rooney was United's
hottest talent following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and
expected to be rewarded as such.
But United were not prepared to push the boat out and go the
extra mile for him or any other new arrivals. What irks Rooney is
that manager Alex Ferguson seems to have accepted the situation
without protest.
Ferguson has not gone to the board calling for them to break the
bank to keep Rooney, nor has he asked for a truckload of cash so he
can get back to competing at the very top table.
In fact, Ferguson has publicly praised the Glazers more than
once, most recently insisting: "They've been great owners. They
have supported me every way I've asked them."
As far as Rooney is concerned, Fergie has not been asking
enough. United, he fears, will become Premier League also-rans
while the rivals across town emerge as the major force. Rooney's
own form and off-the-field behaviour do not help his arguments,
though.
The 24-year-old has not scored for United in open play since
March, was a disaster with England at the World Cup and is doing
little to prove he is worth a place in the team for either club or
country.
And he has been attracting all the wrong headlines at the front
end of the newspapers.
But friends claim you would see a different Rooney if he thought
the club was going forward and they had enough faith in him to
offer the type of contract the world's best players have come to
expect.
One pal said: "The bottom line is that it seems United don't
love Wayne enough to pull out all the stops to keep him.
"Do they really think they would be better off without him?"
There is a view that Fergie is so angry with Rooney for dabbling
with prostitutes that the Scot is making him suffer for sullying
the United name. But a source close to United's board members and
Ferguson insisted the furore over his sleeping with hookers is a
sideshow.
Even before the sordid revelations, the contract discussions
were floundering. The source told SunSport: "This is about money,
pure and simple. United don't think Rooney is worth what he is
asking, particularly in the form he is in now - and it is hard to
see that changing.
"They also think he might be pushing them to get a reaction with
the way he is claiming he's never been injured. "They haven't
decided whether to sell him yet and they certainly don't want to
let him go in the January transfer window.
"However, if a ridiculous bid comes in, you can never say
never." Chelsea, Real and Barca have all been linked with Rooney
but the striker is not a huge fan of Madrid boss Jose Mourinho's
style.
It is also hard to see him adapting to a new culture in Spain
when he has found it difficult enough moving 40 miles to
Manchester.
A London bolthole might appeal but Chelsea are much more
realistic in their transfer dealings these days.
Rooney is boxed into a corner. It's looking like City or
bust.
