“I was dumbfounded. Only months before he was saying he was at the greatest club in the world. He wanted to stay for life.”
If you’re looking for bombshell of the week, look no further than the one dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson on Tuesday afternoon. After weeks of speculation over Wayne Rooney’s form, marriage, and ankle, Sir Alex finally revealed that “the boy” would not extend his contract at Manchester United further than 2012.
But that bombshell was topped only three days later on Friday with a quote from Wayne Rooney that was like music to United fan’s ears:
“I'm delighted to sign another deal at United. I've spoken to the manager and the owners and they've convinced me this is where I belong.”
A massive U-turn from the player who on Wednesday night, just before his team-mates were about to go out to face Turkish side Bursaspor in the Champions league released a statement claiming Chief Executive David Gill “did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad.”
So what happened? What made him change his mind and sign a new five year deal a mere 48 hours after releasing such a statement? Was it ever about the future ambitions of the club or were there other reasons persuading Rooney to leave?
Rumours have been circling like vultures over the star striker’s relationship with Sir Alex, yet both parties have denied that strenuously. Greed has been another excuse thrown into the mix, but even that seems implausible seeing he could pocket a huge sum of money by just sitting out his contract until 2012.
Perhaps Rooney had grown fed up of the over-zealous British media constantly hounding him over his private life. This would be a plausible reason, Rooney’s reputation has taken a massive hit after allegations about his infidelities were revealed back in August, and of course his form has been in question ever since South Africa. Rooney isn’t just a football player, he’s a brand. And one thing brands don’t like is bad publicity. Just after his affairs were revealed Rooney was dropped from an ad by Coca Cola, one of Rooney’s big sponsors, in response to the allegations. And with Rooney having many, many sponsorship deals (Nike, Coke Zero, and Powerade, to name a few) this could prove a problem for him.
Ultimately, Rooney could end up loosing money because of his misdemeanours. But not just Rooney, his agent Paul Stretford would also lose out. It makes business sense to get Wayne Rooney out of the country and away from the relentless media coverage. Maybe that is what has been going on. Stretford, a major influence on Rooney, has whispered in his ear and told him this could cause major repercussions to the Rooney brand, and hence the Rooney pockets.
Stretford will know how much wage Rooney can demand at other clubs around Europe. He’ll know it’s more than United can offer right now. He’ll have no doubt been in touch with a few elite clubs, sounding out their intentions should Wayne Rooney become available. In a sense it’s tapping up, but this is the twenty-first century game, it happens. You’d be incredibly naïve to believe it doesn’t, especially where agents are involved.
Ferguson’s press conference on Tuesday was a stroke of genius. Everything he does is for an intricate reason. He looked so dejected, rather than being his sarcastic, witty or angry self, he came out with an almost deplored attitude, talking candidly to the media about the issue, something he very rarely does. He genuinely believed it, Rooney was leaving the club.
Ferguson has spoken about the modern game, many a time. About how it has changed over the years. No one knows better than him. Perhaps that is why he was looking so morose. He knows the players of old, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville are a thing of the past. Now he must deal with agents, instead of players, and he doesn’t like it. Not one bit.
Parasitical agents pick up their clients now at the youngest age possible. Creating a rapport with them, filling their ears with convoluted dreams, what they could become with their help, how much money they could be on. Let’s face it, anyone would fall for the allure of it. Loyalty no longer matters in the game, not like it did. It’s slowly dying off. Players are more loyal to their agents than the clubs that nurture them.
As Liverpool know all too well, football is business. 100% business. And it’s those business reasons that could cripple United just as Liverpool have been. Perhaps Rooney had looked at what United are capable of in the transfer market, which was once dominated by them, and didn’t like what he saw. Especially with the blue half of Manchester burning through hundreds of millions without breaking a sweat.
Rooney’s concerns would be just the same as the fans’. Ever since the Glazer family has buried the club in massive debt United have not been able to match their rivals in the transfer market. I’ve never understood this deal. The Glazers borrowed money they did not have and used the club they were buying as collateral. Based on that I could go and buy, let’s say, Bolton Wanderers, I don’t know why it seems as good an option as any. Now let’s say to purchase the club I’ll be needing 300 million pounds, which is a bit of a problem as I don’t have any money. So I go to the bank and ask for a loan of 300 million pounds, now surely the bank would want some collateral right? Well I’m going to effectively put that onto Bolton Wanderers Football Club and if it doesn’t work out I can just leave them with the burden. It’s all good. Any bank would laugh at me if I made that request, so how did the Glazers do it? It smells horribly of corruption, I have no idea how or why the FA or the British government allowed it to go through.
But it did go through. And that’s where they are. Sir Alex claimed Manchester United were prepared to offer Rooney a contract with “the best terms possible for any player in the country.” But I don’t think that was possible. Realistically, if United offered Rooney £250,000 a week, City could just offer £250,001, they easily outmuscle United financially.
Whether he meant it or not, I do think Rooney is a little off the mark in saying United had no ambition. I’m presuming he felt that way because United didn’t buy a superstar in the summer. But that has never really been United’s way of doing things. They have always focussed on youth, and nurturing that youth into a world-class player. Look at the current United side. Just some of the players who joined or started at Manchester United as nobodies: Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Hernadez, Nani, Anderson, Fabio, Rafael. Even the players no longer at the club: Ronaldo, Heinze, van Nistelrooy, Beckham; all unproven, all became great players. In five years time Hernandez could be scoring 30 goals a season, he might not, but with Sir Alex at the helm you just wouldn’t put it past him.
Of course Fergie has invested in more established players when he has deemed it necessary: players like Berbatov, Carrick, Ferdinand, Hargreaves, and Van der Sar. But his focus as a manager has always been bringing in young unestablished talent, and creating a world-beater. I wonder if Cristiano Ronaldo would be the player he is today without joining Sir Alex at United.
Ferguson said on Wednesday night after the Bursaspor game that he “didn’t want it to be a saga.” And it certainly wasn’t a long one. What’s interesting for me is that Rooney has signed on the dotted line already. It was previously said that there was no offer on the table yet he has just signed one. These contracts take weeks to compile together so it could be assumed there was an offer on the table, Rooney just hadn’t signed it.
Because of this I don’t believe its about the money. If it was he’d have left. I think Rooney was genuinely concerned about where the squad was moving; forwards or backwards. He’ll have been concerned ever since Ronaldo left the club, just as many of the other players would have been.
The crucial part in Rooney’s statement on Friday was when he said: “I've spoken to the manager and the owners and they've convinced me this is where I belong,” The fact he’s spoken to the manager would be key, but so is the owners. They’re the ones who are ultimately in the driving seat at United. They’re the ones who will dictate whether or not the club will compete or not. Without the owners, the board, the manager, and the players all on song, United will fail just as Liverpool did.
Regardless of whether or not Rooney stayed, United will need to rebuild and restructure soon. Players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and even Rio Ferdinand will need replacing soon. And with the clubs current situation financially, that could prove difficult. Take the goalkeeping situation for example, Van der Sar will need to be replaced as early as next year. Ben Foster didn’t work out, and Kuschak doesn’t look to be a starting option. Hugo Lloris would be a great buy, but could United afford to pay Lyon the fee? Probably not. Instead other options will need pursuing. Stekelenburg over at Ajax could be a good option but he too could cost a pretty penny. Balancing the books and keeping the team winning could well be Sir Alex’s biggest challenge yet.
Key to future success will be Ferguson. But on the field, no one will be more important than Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic. Vidic in particular, after signing a new contract and becoming captain in the summer, it is now his job to keep the players together, keep them motivated, and demand the best from them. He was spot on after the Bursaspor game saying to the media how he and the players just want to get on with things, train and win football matches.
The big problem for Rooney will be getting the players and the fans back on his side. Some of the players seemed to be upset at his accusations, reading into them that they were not deemed good enough by him. Patrice Evra came out after the Bursaspor match and told Sky: “If one player in the team does not trust the others, he should not play in the team. I trust everyone, I know we can win.” He will need convincing Rooney trusts in his and his team-mates ability to win games.
According to Ferguson, Rooney has apologised to him and the players over his actions in the past couple of days. It won’t be easy for him, but I think over time Rooney will win back the player’s confidence. If he can get the confidence of the senior players such as Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand, and Vidic in particular, the other players should be attainable too.
You have to admire Rooney a little for completing this U-turn knowing the backlash he would receive from the players and the fans. He’s already witnessed a bunch of idiots outside his house on Thursday night throwing abuse and death threats at him and his family. I can only hope the club comes out condemning that rubbish and banning them from Old Trafford. They’re not fans. They’re just morons. Even if he did leave, he’s just a footballer, get a grip. I prefer players who want to play for the club, not those who play with a gun pointed to their head.
It’s been a crazy few days, that ultimately was resolved in probably the best possible way. I doubt the saga is really over but for now Rooney is a Manchester United player and more importantly their ambitions are still as big as they ever were.
No ambition? There’s always ambition when Sir Alex Ferguson is your manager. Always.
