WITH WAYNE ROONEY having played the full ninety minutes in the scoreless draw with Southampton earlier this week, attention quickly turned to whether the 31-year-old may have already played his last ever game at Old Trafford.
With Jose Mourinho keen to keep all of his senior players fresh for next Wednesday’s Europa League final against Ajax, it seemed unlikely Rooney would be called upon to be involved in three games across just seven days.
And speaking at his press conference earlier today, Mourinho confirmed that the striker will probably sit out Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
“We will bring 3-4 of the first-team players on Sunday, one half for each one, to give a bit of experience for each and save them all for Wednesday,” he said.
But I don’t know about Wayne. He played 90 minutes in the last game [against Southampton], so probably not.”
With Rooney playing a bit-part in United’s season, scoring just eight times in all competitions, it seems increasingly likely that he will move elsewhere this summer.
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He had the chance to join a Chinese Super League team back in February but chose to remain in Manchester and fight for his place. At the time, he felt confident that he could even stay at United until his current contract expired in 2019.
Rooney has had to grow accustomed to a bit-part role at Man United under Jose Mourinho. Mike Egerton
Mike Egerton
But, such an outlook now appears quite optimistic.
Even with a season-ending injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rooney has rarely been handed an opportunity to feature up front. Instead, his cameos have come more regularly in midfield.
Publicly, Rooney has attempted to reiterate his desire to stay but the message hasn’t exactly been very clear. At a recent press conference, he was asked if he wanted to remain a Manchester United player.
I’ve been at this club for 13 years. Of course. I want to play football.”
And therein lies the problem. Rooney has not been playing enough football and he’s far too proud and successful to stay rooted on the bench for longer than he has to.
Major League Soccer remains an option with new Los Angeles franchise LAFC beginning in MLS in March 2018. A move to North America would probably appeal more to Rooney but the Chinese Super League certainly can’t be ignored.
Martin Rickett
Martin Rickett
It certainly seems a good time to bow out of the club. He broke Bobby Charlton’s long-standing goalscoring record earlier in the season and may end the campaign as a Europa League champion.
But, should he go in the summer, it means his last game at Old Trafford was the fraught 1-1 semi-final second-leg against Celta Vigo in which he had an eight-minute cameo.
After such a glittering time at the club, it surely wasn’t the farewell he or the United fans would’ve wished for.
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Has Wayne Rooney already played his last competitive game at Old Trafford?
WITH WAYNE ROONEY having played the full ninety minutes in the scoreless draw with Southampton earlier this week, attention quickly turned to whether the 31-year-old may have already played his last ever game at Old Trafford.
With Jose Mourinho keen to keep all of his senior players fresh for next Wednesday’s Europa League final against Ajax, it seemed unlikely Rooney would be called upon to be involved in three games across just seven days.
And speaking at his press conference earlier today, Mourinho confirmed that the striker will probably sit out Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
“We will bring 3-4 of the first-team players on Sunday, one half for each one, to give a bit of experience for each and save them all for Wednesday,” he said.
With Rooney playing a bit-part in United’s season, scoring just eight times in all competitions, it seems increasingly likely that he will move elsewhere this summer.
He had the chance to join a Chinese Super League team back in February but chose to remain in Manchester and fight for his place. At the time, he felt confident that he could even stay at United until his current contract expired in 2019.
But, such an outlook now appears quite optimistic.
Even with a season-ending injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rooney has rarely been handed an opportunity to feature up front. Instead, his cameos have come more regularly in midfield.
Publicly, Rooney has attempted to reiterate his desire to stay but the message hasn’t exactly been very clear. At a recent press conference, he was asked if he wanted to remain a Manchester United player.
And therein lies the problem. Rooney has not been playing enough football and he’s far too proud and successful to stay rooted on the bench for longer than he has to.
Major League Soccer remains an option with new Los Angeles franchise LAFC beginning in MLS in March 2018. A move to North America would probably appeal more to Rooney but the Chinese Super League certainly can’t be ignored.
It certainly seems a good time to bow out of the club. He broke Bobby Charlton’s long-standing goalscoring record earlier in the season and may end the campaign as a Europa League champion.
But, should he go in the summer, it means his last game at Old Trafford was the fraught 1-1 semi-final second-leg against Celta Vigo in which he had an eight-minute cameo.
After such a glittering time at the club, it surely wasn’t the farewell he or the United fans would’ve wished for.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
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Chinese Super League Jose Mourinho Major League Soccer Old Trafford Manchester United The Long Goodbye Wayne Rooney