MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – Wayne Rooney has told Manchester United he wants to quit the club, leaving manager Alex Ferguson “shocked and bemused” and paving the way for a bidding war to start for the England striker.
Ferguson stunned reporters yesterday by confirming media speculation that the 24-year-old wanted out, saying he had been told on August 14 that the forward, whose contract runs out in 2012, would not be signing a new deal.
“We are as bemused as anyone can be. We can’t quite understand why he would want to leave,” Ferguson told a news conference where the “Wayne issue” had to wait until after the half-hearted questions about today’s Champions League match.
He added Rooney would miss that Group C match against Bursaspor with the ankle injury that has been at the centre of much of the newspaper furore.
A United spokeswoman said he had been taken off the field on a stretcher towards the end of training yesterday, having earlier been seen laughing and joking with his team mates in the session as he kept warm in black hat and gloves.
Ferguson said he had been told of Rooney’s decision by United chief executive David Gill.
“It was a shock,” Ferguson said. “I couldn’t believe it because in other discussions as early as March he intimated that he wanted to stay, he wanted to sign a life contract, he was happy at the club, he was at the best club in the world.
“I had a meeting with him. He intimated to me in his own way that he wanted away.
“I told him, ‘The only thing I want from you, Wayne is to honour the club’s position and traditions and behave like a proper professional and we’ll try to see it through.’
“There was an offer there, it never got into financial discussion, but I know David was prepared to offer him a contract that would be difficult to better elsewhere.”
No Nonsense
With Rooney barely off the back or front pages in recent months, following revelations about his private life, Ferguson later told MUTV that he had doubts over whether the player had taken notice of his plea that he did not want “any nonsense”.
He said the door was still open for a deal to be reached but Rooney could have plenty more offers to consider if any of the reports linking him to the likes of United’s big-spending neighbours Manchester City and Real Madrid come to fruition.
Glancing at prepared notes, Ferguson spoke for several minutes uninterrupted on the subject before folding up his piece of paper and leaving without taking questions on his statement.
