Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has admitted he was “ready to go and play in Spain” before dramatically signing a new deal at Old Trafford, and confirmed that talks took place over a move.
United’s all-time top scorer famously rebuffed the club’s attempts to pin him down to a new deal in 2010, going so far as to submit a transfer request to force an exit.
And speaking to the BBC today, the 39-year-old said that he can see why Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold may be tempted by a move to Real Madrid, and “fair play to him” if he does sign for the La Liga giants.
Rooney named Real as one of three clubs who came in for him 15 years ago, alongside Chelsea and Barcelona. He also noted that Manchester City are often thought to have been interested, but “I don’t think that was ever an option for me.”
It’s a move that would have sent an already incensed fanbase into meltdown; when it looked like he was going to leave he had United fans protesting outside his house, although he explained that he had already agreed his new contract at this point.
Prior to that, though, he confesses that he could easily have quit Old Trafford.
“In my head, I was ready to go and play in Spain and some talks did take place,” he said, continuing that after initially looking set for Real it was ultimately their fierce rivals he imagined himself playing for.
“It was Barcelona whom I thought about the most, and how I might fit into their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.”
The thought of prime Rooney in that team is mind-boggling, and even though he decided to stay and make history at United he maintains that “Barca had an incredible team then and any player would have loved to have played in it.”
He notes that this is similar to how Alexander-Arnold may be feeling about joining up with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, which is “a massive opportunity” and one which he may feel “too good to turn down.”
Rooney, who won five Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and a Champions League with United, says that honours were always the most important thing to him.
“Winning trophies was the biggest reason I considered leaving United in 2010,” he said. “I was about to turn 25 and I was concerned about the direction of the club.”
Two of his league titles came after his contract stand-off was resolved, but in the longer term his concerns have proved legitimate.
On leaving his boyhood club Everton in 2004 in pursuit of silverware, he said: “I did not want to leave them when I did – I was devastated – but I would have moved on at some point, to try and better myself and win some trophies.”
His first league title came two seasons after joining.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
