Wayne Rooney's exit was never likely, says David Gill

Wayne Rooney

Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill has said that the departure of Wayne Rooney to Chelsea in the summer was never likely.

“We are not in the business of strengthening our key competitors in England. You have to see our response when Gabriel Heinze wanted to join Liverpool (in 2007). We went to a Premier League arbitration panel to show that we didn’t commit to him moving within England for a certain sum of money,” Gill told the BBC radio.

“We wanted to keep (Rooney) in any event and not sell him overseas. You don’t win football matches with money in the bank. You want players on the pitch. Wayne Rooney has been, and will continue to be I am sure, a great player for Manchester United,” Gill added.

Rooney was widely speculated to leave United in the summer with Chelsea and Arsenal being the favourites to lure the striker.

Gill also expressed his view about rumours on Rooney’s wage reduction by saying that the club has its own way of dealing with such issues.

“Yes, I am sure they will look at it. We have an approach to dealing with players’ contracts at Manchester United that has stood us in good stead for many years,” he said.