Wayne Rooney and Manchester United: A marriage of convenience

Wayne Rooney of Manchester United poses with the Premier League trophy at the start of the Premier League trophy winners parade on May 13, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)

The Community Shield told us that Manchester United are better than Wigan Athletic and that Robin van Persie is a first-rate centre-forward, but we knew that already. The most interesting aspect of a low-key curtain-raiser came afterwards, as David Moyes, almost daring journalists to contradict him, insisted that he has not fallen out with Wayne Rooney and that the forward will not be sold.

Of course, it makes sense for him to say that, whatever the truth of the matter, but there was something in the way he dwelt on the issue that made it seem that this was more than simply a denial to keep the price high.

Yet the whole issue seems strange: something has been going on. In the murky world of football transfers there is fairly often smoke without fire, as agents spread whispers, amplified by journalists with pages to fill and no actual football to talk about, but there was definitely some substance here.

It was last February when the rumours first surfaced that Sir Alex Ferguson had mooted the possibility of selling Rooney to United’s then chief executive, David Gill. Those stories gained in credibility when Rooney was omitted from the starting line-up for the Champions League tie against Real Madrid, before Ferguson dropped the bombshell as he retired that Rooney was actively seeking a transfer. But even that was baffling: if United wanted shot of Rooney, had they somehow goaded him into asking for a move?

Perhaps Ferguson thought that by revealing Rooney was unsettled, he would take the pressure off his successor, that it wouldn’t be assumed, if Rooney left, that it was because of the player’s troubled relationship with the new manager (although Moyes gave Rooney his debut at Everton, he also sued him over allegations in his autobiography). He may even have been right, but Moyes was left with a mess to clear up that wasn’t of his own making.

Yet, if Rooney hangs around, it feels like a marriage of convenience. Rooney, for all his qualities – and it should not be forgotten that he registered 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 Premier League starts last season – is a weirdly unsalable player. He is simply not a player it’s easy to imagine settling abroad, or adapting to foreign football: he is very British in style and attitude, and his wages are very high. That means that realistically there is only Chelsea and Manchester City can afford him and United – for obvious reasons – would be reluctant to sell to a direct Premier League rival. In that sense, United need Rooney.

But it’s also true that United need Rooney for his goal-scoring abilities. Although Van Persie continues to score freely, United have had major problems with goals from midfield. Between them Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Ryan Giggs, Danny Welbeck and Antonio Valencia scored just seven league goals between them last season. Rooney offers goals, assists and a tackling option: no player in his position in the world game does as much tracking back.

So it seems now that he will stay but there is a pragmatism to the relationship.