Wayne Rooney's Manchester United timeline

#11 Rooney hands in a transfer request, yet again (May 12, 2013)

Sir Alex Ferguson’s final home match in charge saw a subdued Rooney with the manager revealing that he wanted out

After securing the 2012/13 Premier League title, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that the season would be his final one in charge at Old Trafford but a bigger bombshell was dropped on May 12, 2013 when the gaffer himself revealed after his final home game in charge against Swansea that Rooney had handed in a transfer request.

The revelation took everyone by surprise as few saw it coming. Rooney had developed a good understanding with Van Persie up front and though there were times when the Englishman found himself on the bench in favour of the former Arsenal forward, there was little to indicate that Rooney wanted to move out.

One of David Moyes’ first tasks at United was to persuade Rooney to stay on and despite strong interest from the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, Rooney stayed on, but once again cracks developed in his relationship with the Old Trafford faithful.

Rooney signed a contract extension on February 21, 2014, set to keep him at the club until 2019 and he ended the season as the top scorer in the league for United with 17 goals. He also assisted 10 goals in the league and also had the most assists in the 2013–14 Champions League (8).