3 Reasons why Manchester United shouldn’t have given Wayne Rooney the new contract

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney

Recently Wayne Rooney signed a new long term contract with Manchester United. Here are three reasons why United should have sold him instead.

1. Financial Outlay Involved

The new contract that has been offered to Wayne Rooney is reported to be in the tune of £300,000 per week, or £15.6m per year. Given that the deal is stated to run till 2019, that means that the new contract is worth more than £70m over the course of five and a bit years. That is a lot of money to invest in one single player.

Considering the fact that Rooney would easily have fetched upwards of £30m, it means that not giving Rooney the new contract and selling him instead would have made £110m available for the club to spend. Not having Champions League football is bound to negatively impact the clubs finances, and such a big financial outlay seems far from prudent.

2. Allow Juan Mata to prosper

Juan Mata with David Moyes

With Wayne Rooney in the side, it means that January signing Juan Mata has been forced to play a wider role than he would ideally like as Wayne Rooney prefers to operate in the hole behind the main striker. Without Rooney in the side, it would allow Mata to prosper in the central role.

Mata is a far more creative player than Rooney and given the finishing ability of Robin van Persie, it could have been a much better choice for United to build the team around the Spaniard. He has shown what he is capable of during his first couple of season at Chelsea and making him central to the team could have been more beneficial to the Red Devils.

3. Invest in young talent

David Moyes with Adnan Januzaj

The amount of money that is required to keep Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford could easily have been used to bring in young talent. The current squad is full of ageing players who are mediocre at best. Their inconsistent performances have resulted in the dire situation United find themselves in at the moment.

Given the proper investment in young and upcoming talent United would have been able to build a balanced team that would be able to take on Europe’s best in 2-3 years’ time. It would not only freshen up the team but also add some much needed drive to a team that has seemed lethargic for large chunks of this season.