Rooney Contract Haggling / Transfer Requests Revisited

Juve were not letting Pogba go a few months back. this is typical stand off for clubs with an asset.

Yeah mate but did Juve's manager come out and say ''We're not letting him go'' right after saying ''Paul has asked to leave''. No he obviously didn't but thats what Ferguson did, if he was lining up a sale i dare say publicly stating your star player wants to leave doesn't exactly strengthen your negotiating position. Wouldn't you agree?


What is interesting is even back then no top clubs on the continent wanted him, and that's when his stock was high

How would we have known that no top clubs on the continent wanted him? Between Ferguson going public with Rooney's transfer request, and him signing his new contract only 3 days had passed and it was in october. The window wasn't even open. So there was no real time for interest from the likes of Barca or Real to manifest.

For whats it's worth heres what Pep had to say on the matter at the time.

"He is one of the greatest players in the world as there are very few players with his qualities," Guardiola said, according to The Sun.

"He's a player I admire very much."

http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2...coach-pep-guardiola-admires-manchester-united
 
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Who was the one that reportedly came into training drunk? Who was the one that told coaches that he did not need to push himself more in training because he had nothing to prove?

Did any of this actually happen? And by that i mean did any reputable sources report this behaviour?
 
Did any of this actually happen? And by that i mean did any reputable sources report this behaviour?

He, Evans, and one more I believe...not drunk though, hangover, or maybe not even that, but late to training with being at party the night before.

EDIT: Gibbo!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...opped-from-team-after-lethargic-training.html

And contrary to suggestions that Ferguson had issued the fines as a result of the players being out on Boxing Day – five days before Saturday’s fixture against Blackburn – it has emerged that no curfew was in place and that the reason for the punishment was the lack of focus and energy noticed by United’s coaching staff in the efforts of the three players on Tuesday.



So, not drunk for sure. Another hurtful myth. :nervous:
 
Considering how widely admired Rooney was around Europe, there definitely would have been interest if he were available.
 
You're not usually lost for words when it comes to Rooney. :lol:
To be fair, he's not the only one. I never really see any debate about why Ronaldo doing what he did was acceptable other than Madrid was his dream which is also a blatant lie.
 
To be fair, he's not the only one. I never really see any debate about why Ronaldo doing what he did was acceptable other than Madrid was his dream which is also a blatant lie.

Oh, I know. There's plenty of them. What sickens me is that they've got more love and respect for Schweinsteiger - a player who has done feck all at this club, than Rooney - a player who has been here for 12 years, won everything there is to win, and is nearly our all time top goalscorer. Baffles me.
 
For all of one season and another season at the end of his career.

I know how long he was at City. You clearly didn't know, or had forgotten, he was a City player before he ever came to OT..

Law didn't want to go though...

|He came to us via Torino. As to "didn't want to go" at the end well few want to. He was in serious decline and he got a free transfer because nobody bid for him when he was listed.
 
I know how long he was at City. You clearly didn't know, or had forgotten, he was a City player before he ever came to OT..



|He came to us via Torino. As to "didn't want to go" at the end well few want to. He was in serious decline and he got a free transfer because nobody bid for him when he was listed.
I don't know where you're coming from but maybe you misconstrued why I said those things,

Then it should have been denied in the media. A United player doesn't come back from that if the allegations are true. The moment Heinze wanted to join Liverpool he was gone from the club.

Denis law actually played for city. Does that mean you don't consider him a legend?

Mate it was in response to those 2 quotes.

My point is that Law can't be compared to Heinze because Law never asked for a transfer.
 
Law didn't want to go though...

Tbf to Rooney, Law had actually 'threatened' to leave United if he didn't get a payrise in 1966.

Denis Law said:
After all the headlines, the statements and the debates about Wayne Rooney's future, he decided he wanted to stay at Manchester Unitedafter all and signed a new five-year contract. I couldn't help smile as I thought back to the time when I also said I would leave the club if they refused my pay demand.

I have no idea about the details of Rooney's contract or the kind of sums involved, but I suspect there was a slight difference in what we were looking for. Back in 1966, I asked Matt Busby for a rise of £10 a week!

His response was to bring it all out in the open. He announced that he wouldn't be held to ransom and had put me on the transfer list. I don't know about Wayne, but I never really wanted to leave United. I was just trying it on. And in fact there was never any animosity. Matt sorted it with me very cleverly.

He gave me a prepared statement of apology to sign and he presented it to the press. He had proved again what a strong manager he was and I was back on board. What Matt didn't reveal was that he had secretly given me the tenner. That was his way of handling things.

Heh, Sir Alex and Sir Matt eh? :D


I don't like getting involved in the old Rooney contract issues dispute and going about in circles, but it's quite frankly 'ridiculous' and tedious watching @wr8_utd trying to downplay Rooney's behaviour during that contract/transfer issue.

Call me a Rooney fanboy all you want but the fact is that Ronaldo was an absolute disgrace the way he behaved. Rooney went to Fergie privately and apparently told him maybe we should buy better players. Ronaldo went out in public and contradicted something Fergie said just days before. History has been rewritten now but Ronaldo's behavior that summer was nothing less than shocking.

Say what you want about Rooney. He kept his "desire to leave" quiet and never behaved remotely as shockingly as Ronaldo did when he wanted to leave. It's very easy to leave the club and then go on and talk lovingly about United/Fergie etc etc. Actions speaker louder than words and he left and Rooney stayed on here.

Now I'm not condoning Ronaldo's behaviour but I'm not buying the claim that Rooney didn't act as shockingly or that his contract/transfer issue is comparable with the likes of Rio/Keane etc.

Might as well rehash 2 of my older posts on these issues.

I think he was respectful even then. He didn't go public with his TR, he didn't make anything messy. Fergie made it public. I could understand the hatred for Rooney because of the TR but the fact that Rio (lunch with Kenyon), Ronaldo (horrendous behaviour in 08) and Keane (his own contract issues) did similar or worse stuff and it's never really held against them now.

Firstly, those scenarios (including Law's) are completely different in the sense that none of them had the temerity to question the manager, the club and implicitly question the quality of the first team openly in a press conference.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic and defender Patrice Evra have led a number of verbal attacks on Wayne Rooney by his team-mates.
Rooney's decision to release a statement criticising United's lack of ambition, just two hours before Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bursaspor, has been interpreted as an act of betrayal by his team-mates.

Trusted colleagues knew of Rooney's desire to leave United in recent weeks but have attempted to talk him into a U-turn.

The timing of Rooney's statement and claims that his readiness to move is fuelled by a determination to continue 'winning trophies' prompted an angry response within the United dressing room.

Defender Evra led the attack on Rooney by insisting that there is no place at United for players who do not trust their team-mates.

He said: “If one player in the team doesn’t trust the others he should not play in the team. I’m not at that point because I trust everyone and I know we can win.

I’ve been here for four years and every season, until last year, I have won the league. That hurt because this is Manchester United and we must win trophies.


“That is the pressure of playing here, so if a player is not happy with that pressure he should go. No team is better than us at the moment. Manchester United belong at the top and I’m confident we can do that.”

Evra insists that the Rooney saga will not be allowed to distract the players from kick-starting United’s faltering season. He said: “We need to be professional and we need to perform. I don’t like excuses about what’s going on around the club. Everyone needs to focus on themselves.

“The situation with Wayne Rooney is for the boss, not for the players. We are just focused on winning games and bringing back the winning mentality.

“Everyone talks about Manchester United but nobody has beaten us this season. The problem has been us — we have made some silly mistakes but teams have not been better than us. We have not been playing badly.”

United captain Nemanja Vidic, who signed a new long-term contract two months ago, admitted that all the speculation about Rooney was unsettling the team.

He said: “When rumours are going around talking about the bad performances or something happening around the club and the Glazers, it is not good for the players and not good for the team.”

Rooney’s aspersions that United no longer match his ambition were rejected by midfielder Darren Fletcher, a close friend, who claimed that the club remains at the forefront of the chase for honours.

Fletcher said: “That [lack of ambition] is his opinion, but I believe the players in the dressing room are good enough to take us forward.

“I watch them in training every day and we have got some young, exciting players. When someone leaves, someone always steps up to the mark. This is still the biggest club. What makes big clubs is history. Clubs can have money but this club’s history drives it forward.

“I have experienced big players leaving in the past and we have always managed to respond. When they leave, it is disappointing because they have been team-mates, big players for the club, and achieved massive success for the club.

“But it is the players in that dressing room who are going to be the ones to take Manchester United forward.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-speaks-out-over-Wayne-Rooneys-behaviour.html

It ultimately left many first team players unhappy and threatened to destabilize the entire team with all that negative attention. It was also blatantly disrespectful to his teammates and Fergie who had played a significant part in his development as a player and he probably never truly forgave him for it.

All the politics, wrangling and the negotiating tactics behind the scenes are understandable and part of the game. Just about most players do it as they have to look after their own interests. Rooney is a greedy little gobshite just like most footballers, but he is an incredibly stupid one. I'm pretty sure that he didn't mean to be disrespectful to his teammates and just wanted his bumper contract but he was probably too thick to consider the repercussions of his actions :lol:. The alternative being that he really wanted to leave the club, which I don't believe in considering his abrupt u-turn.

The second episode in which he fell out with Fergie, wanting to leave was understandable and could be excused to a certain extent as he wasn't an important player in Fergie's last season.

I don't despise him or want him to fail but I just don't have the same affinity I had before 2010 when he was amongst my favourite players. Not that players would care about that so long as they get their salary..
 
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He didn't go public with his TR, he didn't make anything messy. Fergie made it public.

Ronaldo went out in public and contradicted something Fergie said just days before. History has been rewritten now but Ronaldo's behavior that summer was nothing less than shocking.

Secondly, the fact that Rooney didn't make it public seems to be often raised, but Rooney contradicting Sir Alex and forcing his hand is often left out.


In a move that contradicts his manager, Rooney stressed there had been no injury and claimed that he did not know why Ferguson gave this as the explanation for his omission from the games against Valencia and Sunderland.

“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season,” Rooney said. “I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session so there’s no problem with my fitness.”

Asked why Ferguson had said that he did have an ankle injury, Rooney replied: “Don’t know.”

Rooney has been in and out of the United team since allegations surfaced in September that he slept with prostitutes. Ferguson initially left him out of the match against Everton because he said he did not want to subject Rooney to abuse from fans at Goodison Park.

He then played against Rangers and Liverpool, before being substituted after 61 minutes of the 2-2 draw with Bolton. Ferguson then said that he would be out for up to three weeks with an ankle injury, but refused to go into detail over the precise nature of the problem.


“I think Wayne will be two to three weeks,” he said. “It is a straightforward ankle injury. Nobody likes to be injured but he is. There is nothing you can do about it. What do you want me to say? Do you want me to describe every ligament? Christ.”

Ferguson’s reaction to Rooney’s remarks will be fascinating and, at time when Manchester United are also struggling on the pitch, it represents an unwanted test of his renowned man-management skills.

Rooney is yet to score in open play for Manchester United this season and is adamant that he now just wants regular football, starting with the match against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

“I felt better [in the England game],” Rooney said. “I felt sharp. You need games to get your fitness in. I played a few games and felt I was getting sharp but then missed three or four and then don’t feel as sharp as I thought I would do. I just want to keep playing consistently.”

Asked if he needed matches to maintain his fitness, Rooney said: “I think you need to in this league. You need to keep playing because if you’re not in full fitness it’s difficult to break teams down. I train as hard as I can every day and I do extra training which I’ve done since I was a young boy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...erguson-after-contradicting-injury-claim.html

Ferguson went on to accuse Rooney of being deliberately economical with the truth when he came out after England's game against Montenegro last week to say that he had not been suffering from an ankle injury this season, in direct contradiction to the manager's statements of the previous few weeks.

"It was disappointing because when you know a player's form is a little bit down, you may say he has an injury to protect him, because you don't want to humiliate him and you have respect for him. In a lot of cases over the years we have done that, but in this case when we came to the Sunderland game we decided to give him a complete break to get fit and to play for England, play at Wembley, play for his country and I was hoping that we get his form back.

"That was my intention – to try to galvanise him in terms of getting a proper break from the games, get the training done, get his fitness back, get rid of the little traces of the ankle injury and then play for England. Why he has come out and said that, I have no idea."


So we had SAF making excuses for Rooney's absence (ankle injury/save him from abuse etc) from the side to keep the issue under wraps but Rooney had to contradict SAF and also try and force SAF's hand into starting him, by claiming he needed more games etc. Well that went well, and we all know what happened next... If I'm not wrong, there were also rumours of Rooney's contract issues and about him wanting to leave United in the papers during this period (leaked by one of the parties presumably) and I don't blame SAF for making it public in light of these issues.


I think he was respectful even then. He didn't go public with his TR, he didn't make anything messy.

Nonsense, it was the definition of messy and even SAF said he didn't really think Rooney was respectful.

In addition to the spoilered telegraph article above which contains the repercussions of Rooney's transfer issues and his silly statement,

It is a view shared by former Manchester Evening News Sports Editor David Meek, who has covered United for 52 years and who probably knows Ferguson better than any other football journalist, when he revealed his near disbelief at Rooney's impending departure.

He told BBC Sport: "I have witnessed some spectacular exits at Old Trafford, such as David Beckham and Jaap Stam's but I've not seen anything like this in the last couple of days.

"I have not witnessed such a crude way for a player to depart from a club. It seems totally ignorant, the way he's gone about this.

Denis Law said:
I found it strange that Wayne questioned United's ambition when you consider their history and success over many years. They are one of a handful of clubs that players dream of playing for.

I was in the office on 14 August and David phoned me to say he [Rooney] wasn't signing a contract," confirmed Ferguson.

"I was dumbfounded. Only months before he was saying he was at the greatest club in the world."

Having learned of Rooney's desire to go, Ferguson requested to speak to the player.

"Dealing with the next step was always going to be decisive for us, how we dealt with the situation," he said.

o.gif


"I asked to have a meeting with the boy and he reiterated what his agent said, that he wanted to go.

"The one thing I said to him was 'respect this club, I don't want any nonsense from you'.

"I don't know if he has done that. I have doubts on that
, we are reading all these things about falling out with me and all that nonsense.

"It's disappointing because we have done everything we possibly can to help Wayne Rooney ever since he came to the club.

"We have always been here as a harbour for him any time he has been in trouble, the advice we have given him. I was even prepared to give him financial advice.

"But it's not just Wayne Rooney, we have done that for all the players. Wayne has been the beneficiary of that, just as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes have... so there has been no falling out.

"So there we are, we have got into a situation where we had to clarify this for our fans because what we saw on Saturday was unacceptable.

"When we got to 2-2 [against West Brom] and they were chanting Wayne Rooney, it's a pressure on the players and didn't do the team any good so we had to clarify the situation and put it right."


"We've done nothing but help him since he's been at this club," said Ferguson, who has not given up hope of Rooney remaining at Old Trafford.

"We cannot quite understand why he would want to leave. No-one can deny this club is one of the most successful in British football.

"We have won 40 major trophies, countless cup finals, have a fantastic history, a great stadium, great training arrangements.

"We don't understand it. I can't answer any questions about why he is doing it. We can speculate. We can have opinions. It won't matter a dickie-bird, simply because the player is adamant he wants to leave."


All that nonsense for just wanting a new feckin contract...

"It transpired it was just an interesting technique of getting a new deal," O'Shea said. "I think Wayne, if he could turn back the clock, might do things a bit differently, but both parties were happy in the end.

"He came [into the Carrington dressing room after signing his new deal] and apologised to everyone. He said he'd done what he had to do, basically, and he was sorry if he had offended anybody. Obviously there were a few comments that will stay in the dressing room. They were quite smart and funny, but all friendly."

If it's anything, it's you who are trying to rewrite history mate.
 
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@Joga Bonito It's 3:20 am here so I'll do a bit more detailed reply it to tomorrow but you also failed to answer one thing. Lets for now work on the assumption that okay, Rooney was as disrespectful as Ronaldo. But why is it that Ronaldo gets away with it so easily? All said and done, one man did his best to leave and left and the other is now in his 11th year here and our club captain. Ronaldo is obviosuly far superior a footballer but does that excuse him?

From?

Interesting comments from Sammer

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ining-Bayern-Munich-says-Matthias-Sammer.html

Real weren't interested. Barca had a half decent forward at the time too.

PSG had Zlatan.
Why were only Chelsea interested in him when it looked realistic then?

Wasn't there heavy interest from PSG too? Their owners kept saying they wanted him from what I remember. In 2010 , the gap between the Fergie presser and his new deal must have been a week at most? Also, it being in October, no team was really going to show interest. However, seeing just how widely he's respected across the continent, it's safe to say there would definitely have been offers in 2010. In 2013 there being lesser offers was understandable.
 
In a move that contradicts his manager, Rooney stressed there had been no injury and claimed that he did not know why Ferguson gave this as the explanation for his omission from the games against Valencia and Sunderland.

“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season,” Rooney said. “I’ve been training for the last two months and I haven’t missed a training session so there’s no problem with my fitness.”

Asked why Ferguson had said that he did have an ankle injury, Rooney replied: “Don’t know.”

I completely forgot about this little episode. Just goes to show the lengths he's willing to go to get his own way, be it contracts or playing time, even under SAF.

Great post @Joga Bonito
 
There definitely would be interest in a peak Rooney.

2013 :
"The style of football Barcelona play and the level of the players we have - we are the perfect club for the top players to join,” said 21-year-old Neymar.

"I have met Wayne on a few occasions and he seems a good guy but importantly, he is one of the players I admire most in the world.

"Wayne is one of the most gifted and technical players in the world.

Furthermore, the forward admitted his ambition to play alongside Rooney and how much he would enhance Tito Vilanova's side.

"Of course he would improve Barcelona," he said.

"He would improve any club in Europe. And on a personal level, it would be a dream to play with him," added Neymar

"He is a great player, he is one of the best strikers in the world," Al-Khelaifi told Sky Sports News.

"I think everybody would like to have him but, if you want to talk about the fact, we didn't approach him."
2010 :

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admits interest in want-away Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Roo's days at Old Trafford are numbered after an emotional Alex Ferguson confirmed his star striker wants to desert.

Guardiola last night confirmed: "He is one of the greatest players in the world as there are very few players with his qualities.

"He's a player I admire very much."

Real are thought to be one of the frontrunners for Rooney's signature if he does end up quitting Old Trafford.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho admits every top club will be chasing Rooney, but he still fully expects the 24-year-old to remain at Old Trafford.

"My thoughts are he will stay," Mourinho told Sky Sports.

Belongs
"He probably wants to leave for some reasons, but I believe he belongs to Man Utd, he belongs to Man Utd fans, he belongs to Old Trafford.

"I believe he is going to stay

"But if at the end of day Man Utd decides that he is to leave, give me a call."

Asked if he would be interesting in taking Rooney to the Spanish capital, a laughing Mourinho said: "Everybody would be interested, but again I don't think so.

"I think and I wish because I like him, I like Sir Alex, I like Man Utd I believe the best thing for him is to stay there for life.
 
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All this stuff about contracts and him being scouse and treating his wife like shit when she was pregnant etc...isn't relevant to most of us that criticize Rooney, some seem to find it hard to understand it's not hate or agenda or any other dramatic term, it's simply a case of him being a has-been and United, the team we are all supposed to put before any favourite player, would be better with a top class player in the position he hogs.
 
Ronaldo misbehaved a lot lot more than Rooney, Rio anyone ever has. His behaviour was absolutely disgusting. Agreeing with the slavery comments and the nonsense during Euro 2008 was terrible behaviour. Then he left and started to say nice stuff about United and everyone goes gaga about him even more now. The player who left is loved more than the one who stayed his entire career here.

If Rooney would have left he was only going one place and it certainly wasn't Spain. Continental players leaving us for Spain is a lot more palatable than a player leaving us for our rivals.

Just like Arsenal fans were more tolerant of Fabregas leaving for Barca than Van Persie leaving for us; or Liverpool fans differing views on Suarez and Torres etc. It's seen as more of a betrayal.
 
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If Sir Alex wanted him here he wouldn't of thrown him under the bus by saying he asked away again. When that comment came out the attitude from most fans was "feck him" and we thought we'd be fine with RVP, Hernandez, Welbeck and Kagawa playing in his best position.

Obviously he wouldn't say anything other than "he'll be here next season". If he said he wants rid, no club would offer any sort of decent fee for a player who not only wants out but the clubs own manager says he wants him gone.
 
Well you have to ask yourself why despite Ronaldo having left ages ago ppl dislike Rooney more. The fact that this happens says all already.
Better players are afforded more leeway of course. Ronaldo's 2009 season despite being worse than his previous one was miles better than anything Rooney has done since 2010.
While one stayed for one season after his summer drama and undeniably was our best player and deserved to start every game in 2009 and then left for a world record fee, the other is still here and has been doing nothing valuable for 4 years but is on 250 k.
Even more one despite being the far superior player didn't downplay his teammates' qualities or the club's ambitions.
 
Not that one. I'm making reference to the one that happened in December prior to Wolfsburg game.
I think there were rumours about a drink problem or something.

What got me though was that our captain didn't even bother to fly out with the squad for that must win game.
 
There definitely would be interest in a peak Rooney.




2010 :

Cmon thats just solid PR crap, that has permeated every single football player. When asked about any player they all regurgitate the same crap, every single time, especially the neymar one, thats just standard PR training, means nothing
 
It seemed pretty obvious from how Ferguson was using the squad that he would have shipped Rooney out after 2012/13. He loved Kagawa and seemed ready to play him in preferred No. 10 position the following season and we all know that he long had a raging hard on for RVP, who I feel he would have been able to milk another 1 or 2 great seasons from.
 
If Fergie stayed on, there's no way he'd have kept a waning Rooney for too long, let alone give him a bollocks new £300k 5 year contract:mad:
 
@Joga Bonito It's 3:20 am here so I'll do a bit more detailed reply it to tomorrow but you also failed to answer one thing. Lets for now work on the assumption that okay, Rooney was as disrespectful as Ronaldo. But why is it that Ronaldo gets away with it so easily? All said and done, one man did his best to leave and left and the other is now in his 11th year here and our club captain. Ronaldo is obviosuly far superior a footballer but does that excuse him?




Wasn't there heavy interest from PSG too? Their owners kept saying they wanted him from what I remember. In 2010 , the gap between the Fergie presser and his new deal must have been a week at most? Also, it being in October, no team was really going to show interest. However, seeing just how widely he's respected across the continent, it's safe to say there would definitely have been offers in 2010. In 2013 there being lesser offers was understandable.
I'm talking about 2013.

Chelsea were the only club with genuine interest, and they offered a measly fee

It was different in 2010,but he was a much better player back then.

That's generally the point of all this. The decline has started much longer than many of his fans care to admit.

And the Neymar comments are basically PR as someone seeing said seeing as Barca had someone play at 9 that was kinda decent.
 
I don't think it was all set up by Fergie to get him sold. I know it's fancy and easy to blame it all on Moyes because he was inept overall but here if he sold him, he would've been simply murdered. Yes, we all knew back then that we'd be okay with RVP in the squad instead but it still wasn't Rooney of the same rapid decline we witness now. I also can't see Woodward selling him for commercial reasons, him having his first season at the club, learning the ropes and all that shit.

Fact is this man's had too much power at this club ever since we bent over to him with that first transfer request when we simply let him dictate it all and get his contract.