Manchester United Holding Off Decision On Wayne Rooney’s Future
Reuters / Jason Cairnduff
Deciding Wayne Rooney’s future with Manchester United might have to wait for another month, as there have been no meetings scheduled between the Red Devils’ captain and gaffer after the Europa League finals for the remainder of the month, the Daily Mail claims.
His boyhood club from the Merseyside, Everton, are willing to take him back, and there have been several other rumored offers from others parts of the world too, most significant from the Chinese Super League.
While the player has not started as many games as he would have liked this season at the club, he still has one year to run on his contract. It is also possible that he might have already played his last game for United against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
The decision to delay the meeting was understandable, as the Europa league final would conclude a long 64-game season for United. The staff, along with the players, are expected to take some time off immediately after the final.
In an earlier interview, manager Jose Mourinho did admit that it was a very tough situation for Rooney, as he enters ‘the last part’ of his career. The player is currently aged 31.
While talking to Omnisport (via the Daily Mail), the Portuguese said: “It’s very difficult because during my career I had this kind of situation of getting players – amazing players with amazing history – in the last period of their career.
“When you get players in the last part of their careers, the players with the big history in the club – and I had that everywhere, I had that in Inter, I had that at Real Madrid, I had that at Chelsea.
“Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, to have them – and in my case, I had them in the best period of their career – and then when I returned the second time, I had them in their last period of their career. How difficult it is.”
While Rooney might have lost his pace and touch, which was extremely tough to deal with for most defenses, the past few seasons after Sir Alex’s retirement have taken a toll on the Englishman. Moving into a deeper role from the number 10 position, he was seen dropping as far back as the defensive midfield position at times of need.
After having started only 15 games this season, 5 of them in the past 5 Premier League games, it might be safe to admit that staying at Manchester United might be stretching his fight for a first team spot, especially if the Antoine Griezmann deal pulls through in the summer.
While the player mostly won’t feature at Stockholm for the finals, one can most certainly expect to see him play at Michael Carrick’s testimonial game on June 4th.
