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Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Chelsea transfer target Wayne Rooney's Manchester United team-mates 'annoyed he's putting himself before the club'
Senior pros such as Giggs and Ferdinand said to be unhappy at the unsettling effect saga is having on the squad as a whole
Manic Monday: Rooney was pulled from Sweden trip after reiterating desire for a move
PA
Wayne Rooney is facing a players’ revolt over his attempt to force a way out of Manchester United.
Striker Rooney, a target for Chelsea,
was due to fly with his team-mates to Stockholm on Monday for a return
to action in a friendly against local side AIK on Tuesday night.
But, hours before the flight, he was pulled from the travelling party
because of a minor shoulder injury suffered in training last week and
aggravated in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Real Betis at the
weekend.
Mirror Sport understands, though, that tensions are
running high within the United squad, with senior players such as Rio
Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra expressing their anger at the way
the situation has developed.
And it seems all parties believed it
was wise not to ask Rooney to take part in Tuesday’s match, given the
convenience of a minor injury, when there is so much unrest between him
and the rest of the players.
Sources close to the Old Trafford club
have explained there is an increasing antagonism towards the England
striker, with senior players “unhappy” at his stance, which they see as a
blatant attempt to strengthen his own position without any regard for
the unsettling effect it is having on the team.
It was just the latest chapter in another crazy day of the Rooney saga.
Monday
began with a face-to-face meeting between the player and United manager
David Moyes, during which Rooney told him for a second time that he
wants to leave - and that he wants to know how much the champions will
accept to sell him.
Chelsea had a second bid turned down at the weekend
and are preparing a third offer, but with United loathe to sell to one
of their direct rivals for the title, the Londoners may have to break
their own transfer record to get him.
Moyes will make it as tough
as possible for opposite number Jose Mourinho to prise Rooney out of Old
Trafford - starting with a prohibitive price tag above the £50m Chelsea
paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres two years ago.
Rooney stopped
short of handing in a transfer request - although that remains an option
- when he sought out his new manager for an explanation as to why he
had not been informed of the latest Chelsea approach. Red alert: Rooney situation is said to be creating anger among likes of Giggs
John Peters
A spokesman for the champions confirmed the bid, but explained it had been turned down flat:
“A bid was received yesterday [Sunday] and immediately rejected. Our position remains that he is not for sale.”
In
public, United will continue with their steadfast stance that Rooney is
simply not for sale, while privately they will make it clear the latest
bid was nowhere near high enough for them to even consider doing
business.
They have received a clear indication from the player’s
camp, in talks with Moyes over the past week, that the relationship
between Rooney and the club is beyond repair.
United’s preferred option, if the situation with Rooney becomes untenable, is to sell him to a foreign club.
But they have already been informed the striker has absolutely no intention of moving abroad.
Chelsea
may go as high as £35m for Rooney, but United are likely to ask for a
‘premium’ as the Blues are clear title rivals - and could also say ‘no’
again.
Moyes is trying to handle the Rooney affair as well as he
can, and the mutual respect between him the striker may have pulled the
27-year-old back from the brink of officially asking to go.
However, the issues between Rooney and United over the comments by then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson in May, in claiming that he had made a transfer request, are difficult to patch up.
It
seems the United regime refuse to side with Rooney against their
legendary former manager - creating a wound that may never heal.
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