EPL 2016/17: Paul Scholes feels Wayne Rooney will leave if he is stuck on the bench

What’s the story?

Manchester United legend and TV pundit, Paul Scholes, during his interview to The Daily Mail shared his insights about his beloved club and was full of praise about the manager Jose Mourinho. However, after being asked about the Wayne Rooney situation, he shared his concerns about it and stated that the skipper might leave if he is stuck on the bench.

During his interview, he praised Mourinho and his tactics time and time again and also made a big claim that he does not see United finishing outside top-four even though they are stuck at sixth for a long time now. But, he claimed that unless Rooney becomes a first-team regular again, he does not see him staying at the club next season.

“If it carries on going the way it is, I can't. Maybe it will be re-assessed at the end of the season if he's in and out of the team. I don't see him as a player who will accept that. He will want to be at a team where he's playing every week,” Scholes said.

In case you didn’t know...

Wayne Rooney, who made it to the history books this season becoming Manchester United’s record goalscorer, has struggled for opportunities since Jose Mourinho came to the helm in the summer. Even though he has played 29 games in all competitions so far this season, a large amount of playing time he got was only from the bench.

Quite obviously, speculations have started regarding the United skipper’s future and Scholes believes that if things do not change in the next few months, Wazza will leave the Theater of Dreams which will certainly be heartbreaking for millions of fans around the world.

The heart of the matter

Wayne Rooney has been playing on a regular basis since he was a teenager and now that he is 31, it’s no surprise that he is not the player anymore he used to be. In fact, in the last three or four years, we have seen the Englishman struggling to find his true self. Now that Mourinho is desperate to regain United’s lost glory, he has no option but to bench Rooney who is not adding much to the first team.

Of course, it will be frustrating for a legend like Rooney to languish on the bench but Mourinho has no other option. Scholes, who has played almost a decade with the United skipper, knows it very well that how much the 31-year-old loves the club.

However, Scholes believes that a player of the highest level like him also needs to play on a regular basis and might quit Old Trafford soon.

What’s next?

Wayne Rooney is clearly past his peak but still might do well outside England where the game is not as fast as in the Premier League. Rooney is a player who is also commercially a superstar of the game and he should not find it hard to get suitors for himself who will be ready to pay him even more than what he gets at Manchester United.

Sportskeeda’s take

What Scholes said about the Rooney situation is absolutely spot on. 31 is not an age when a legend like Rooney quits the game. If he is not getting playing time at Old Trafford, he will definitely look for options and is unlikely to find it hard to get a suitor for himself. It’s really hard to see Rooney staying at Old Trafford beyond this summer.