As a Manchester United fan this is really hard for me to write. Wayne Rooney has been an enigma throughout his career in the English Premier League. He has been a show stopper right from his days in Everton uptill now in Manchester United. Now what ? that is the question. With the recent speculation of him handing over a transfer request, he has put a lot of United faithful into mental conflict. Obviously he is an important asset to the club and losing him will be tragic but lets hear his side of the story.lets compare his reasons with the club’s possible considerations. Here are the Pros and Cons of the England International leaving Manchester United this summer.
The Pros -
Manchester United’s point of View -
1. Value for Money – Lets face it, Manchester United is in a ton of debt which makes difficult for them to compete in the transfer window. Their “noisy” neighbours, Manchester City and title contenders, Chelsea have the backing of their rich owners This allows them to chase any upcoming or established talent and pen them into a contract with their massive wage offers. In order to compete in the transfer window, they need the money and now that Ferguson not there any longer it will be hard to enter into negotiations with players with less finance Wayne Rooney is still at his prime and can still provide the club a hefty amount of revenue if he is sold at this stage. If any deal is not done by this year, Rooney’s market value might drop steeply which will force the club to sell their most prized asset at a cut price.
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2. Options available - Presently Manchester United are more than satisfied with their 5 top class strikers. Van Persie, Chicharito, Danny Welbeck and Kagawa. For all those who believe Kagawa is an attacking midfielder, you maybe right but his preferred position would in the box, just behind the striker, a second striker, if you may. Wayne Rooney’s contribution to the team cannot be questioned but you have to also consider the fact that Rooney’s absence has not really been felt this season. Rooney’s horrific injury in August of last year, made him miss 4 weeks of football. This hardly made any difference to the team as the team won every single match in that particular time frame, RVP kept on scoring goals, and for the first time in the season, we saw a delicious partnership growing between RVP and Kagawa. Chicharito always steps up to the plate and contributes massively to the team. Nobody can dispute the fact that Chicharito deserves more time on the pitch, with Rooney in the squad that is not possible.
3. Future of Wayne Rooney – Manchester United fans will love Rooney to retire at this club as a club Legend. However, is that possible? let’s review. Rooney is already 27 years of age, maybe he can keep up the good job for another 3-4 years(maximum). When Rooney does start to bulge from his form what are the options which are open to him? Obviously with a great youth facility at United, young talents will be coming who will eventually take Rooney’s place and cement his place on the bench. Already we got the likes of Angelo Henriquez who has joined the United team and has tremendous capabilities to become a future star for United.
4. RVP Vs Rooney – I always hoped a situation like this never comes up but we cannot deny that this was indeed anticipated. After RVP’s 24 million transfer to United, everybody started to partner RVP and Wayne as “Batman” and “Robin” it was cute at first but then it got serious. Our Robin’s stats are much better in this season than Rooney’s. Some may dispute by stating that Rooney was not given enough chances to prove himself. It maybe true but we have to agree if we had to chose one finishing striker (not supporting) between the two, we have to chose Van Persie. Rooney is a team player, he contributes to the team through his assists and pasees, this is the main reason SAF deployed him at the CAM position but clearly this role is not enough for Rooney’s hunger to score goals.
Wayne Rooney’s Point of View -
1. Growing Discontent with the club – Rooney is highly discontent with the club. Handing in a transfer request is one thing but not willing to play at the last home game for SAF’s career is a bit over the line. He made a massive statement that day, which made all our doubts clear about his imminent departure from Manchester United.
2. The Arrival of David Moyes – We all know the dispute between Rooney and Moyes which had been highlighted through the excerpts of his autobiography. The dispute followed a court case where Moyes charged Rooney’s publisher for damages for making “false allegations”. It was rumoured that things have cooled down between the two. However, working under a person who has not been on the good side of Rooney is bad for his morale. If things are bad this season with SAF in control, things are bound to get worse with Moyes in control. We certainly do not want another outburst like Mancini and Balotelli to happen in the training grounds at Old Trafford.
3. Expectation to revive his Career – At this point, Rooney is certain about his imminent departure from United. He personally does not want to stay at this club. He will be planning to have a new beginning at another club where he will have a higher rate of match opportunity and a more significant role to play. He knows his age factor and he is desperate to make a big impact in footballing terms before he loses his charm. Deep down he knows for a fact that he will not be taken seriously as an important entity ever again in Manchester United irrespective of his huge fan following. He will do his best to prevent himself from spending an entire year on the bench like the fate of Dimitar Berbatov.
The Cons -
Manchester United’s Point of View -
1. A loss of an International Brand – Frankly Rooney attracts a substantial amount of crowd towards Manchester United. Merchandise with his name on it, brings in a lot of revenue for Manchester United. According to Sports Pro’s annual 50 Most Marketable Athletes list, produced in association with Eurosport, Rooney is the fourth most marketable footballer in the world (behind Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo), and our most widely advertised player. he appears in so many ads and is involved in so much marketing. Bar Kagawa and RVP and Rooney is the highest t-shirt seller in the world for Manchester United. There had been speculation in early May of a new 4 year contract being offered to Rooney, this has taken mainly for the issue of his revenue inlet. Sports merchandising giant Nike, who manufactures United’s kit and also is Rooney’s boot sponsors have taken this matter seriously and has forced the club to renew their contract with Rooney at the earliest stage.
2. The chant “OH, ROBIN VAN PERSIE” is catchy but for how long? – Manchester United fans and football fans from all over the world has praised RVP’s recent form. Lets just stop to consider the fact that RVP though vibrant is getting old and might continue this spell for 2 more years at his best effort. Manchester United still lacks a dependable player who can take charge in the absence of RVP. Frankly Chicharito and Danny Welbeck are not up to the job as of now. RVP has suffered injuries in the past, which might come back at anytime this season. If crisis does strike we have the best man for the job to step and take charge that is Wayne Rooney.
3. Perhaps the last of “one of the greatest” in the club – Edwin Van Der Sar, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney had been a part of a traditional strike force at United in the recent years. These were the players the club could always depend on the pitch. Now with the departure of SAF, the priority to retain Rooney is at the highest level. Losing Rooney will cause a scar in the philosophy of the club. I agree to the fact that now, we have RVP, Kagawa and young blood but they have just started their career at Old Trafford. Unlike clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City, United makes lifelong stars, the players have loyalty towards their club. Our club legends are legends because they have played for more than 8 years in the club not just because those players have contributed massively only for one season.
Wayne Rooney’s Point of View -
1. To Start off once again – New club, new managers, new players, new place, new life. At this moment this philosophy might really appeal to Rooney. However, this is indeed a tough ordeal. He has been 9 years in Manchester United, he is accustomed to the procedure here in Old Trafford, the ground staff, the players, the coaches and also his newly appointed manager. Lets face it United will not sell its most prized asset to another club and title contender in EPL. Rooney has no experience outside EPL, and it will be tough.
2. Battle for Position will never desert Rooney – If Rooney is at the state of mind that he will not face any competition in any new club, he is highly mistaken. May it be PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid, the clubs and its players will make sure Rooney fights for his place in the starting 11. The main reason for his transfer request is solely based on him being shunned down from the starting 11. Rooney has to come to the realization that his place in starting 11 is much secure in Manchester than what will be in his next club.
3. Might Jeopardize International Career – As seen earlier many players leave their clubs in their parent country and face elimination from their national team. I’m not stating that a player like his caliber will have to face this situation. However, he might be forced to bring an early retirement from his National Team.
4. The Fans – For obvious reasons, his faithful will not be happy about this situation. Me personally own some T-shirts of United with Rooney ‘s name engraved in all the T-shirts. I cannot explain my sentiments about this situation better than this example, it speaks for itself. At the United victory parade there has been a certain section of the crowd who have booed Rooney, for obvious reasons. He might not have a peaceful departure from United like Berbatov or Ronaldo did, this is the sad story.
A Manchester United Fan’s Point of View -
I cannot find any possible pros for the departure of our most prized asset and believe me I tried. It will be a sad day throughout the world when Rooney announces to the public about his decision to leave the club. As of now, nothing has been done. I agree with Ferguson when he stated that Rooney should take a trip and think about the prospects. It is only he who can decide for himself, he has the right to do so. As a Manchester United and Wayne Rooney Fan, I will support his decision and I am sure everybody will. However, Wayne Rooney will always remain a Red Devil in heart. Best of wishes to him.
