Jose Mourinho insisted that Wayne Rooney is not leaving Manchester United – on the same day the England captain’s odds of quitting the club tumbled.
After a slow start to the season that has seen Rooney out of form and dropped to the bench, speculation has been rife that his time at Old Trafford is up, after 13 years with the club.
And last week The Sun claimed Mourinho had even told Rooney he is free to leave if he wants more regular first team football.
Inter Milan, Everton and LA Galaxy have been mooted as possible destinations for the United skipper.
But on Friday, Mourinho insisted Rooney is staying put.
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
“There is no problem at all but you need stories to sell papers,” the Portuguese told reporters.
“[Rooney] is a top player, a very important player for us,” he added. “He is going nowhere – we like him, he likes us. He’s not happy because he’s been on the bench but he is even unhappier when he’s injured.”
But on the same day some bookies, including 888sport, were giving odds of just 4/1 that Rooney would either be sold, or move on loan in January – down from 50/1 at the start of the season. We looked at the top six leading contenders to sign him, here.
Meanwhile Everton boss Ronald Koeman talked up the possibility of bringing Rooney back to his boyhood club.
“Of course, if there is a possibility that Rooney is an option for Everton, I’m very pleased,” the Dutchman said in a press conference ahead of Everton’s Premier League meeting with West Ham United on Sunday.
“He’s a great player, he’s still not finished his career.”
Rooney made his professional debut for Everton as a 16-year-old at the start of the 2002/03 season, with his first top-flight goal – the winner against Arsenal at Goodison Park – coming just days before his 17th birthday.
He played more than 70 games for the club before moving to Manchester United in the summer of 2004, going on to score more than 200 goals for the 20-time English champions.
Crucially, he is just four goals short of beating Sir Bobby Charlton’s tally of 249 goals for United, to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
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