David Moyes has ruled out the possibility of Wayne Rooney leaving Manchester United this summer.
The 27-year-old’s future has been a constant source of speculation in recent weeks ever since Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that the striker had asked to leave the club towards the end of last season.
But Moyes, who officially took over from Ferguson at Old Trafford this week, insists that the England international will not be leaving Old Trafford.
“Wayne won’t be sold by Manchester United,” Moyes, 50, told a news conference on Friday.
“He is a Manchester United player and will remain a Manchester United player.
“I see a glint in his eye. He looks happy and looks like he will knuckle down and get himself right.”
Asked whether Rooney – who has been linked with Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-German – had officially asked to leave Old Trafford, Moyes replied: “There was a private meeting between two people [Rooney and Ferguson], I wasn’t privy to that.
“I’m now looking at my period at Manchester United and I’ll take it on from there.
“I don’t know what Wayne and Sir Alex said when they spoke to each other. They spoke and that conversation was private between them both.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m really looking forward to working with Wayne and getting him to the level I know he’s capable of and everyone at Manchester United knows he’s capable of.”
Moyes went on to challenge Rooney to commit to the Red Devils and make a name for himself as a true United legend.
“I think if I was Wayne I’d look at the legends who have played for this club,” said Moyes.
“At the new training centre they’ve got pictures up on the wall of George Best, Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, Roy Keane…I could go on and on. And I thought to myself: ‘Wayne isn’t far away from that’.
“It isn’t too difficult to get the goals and if he can do that he would be seen in the same light as many of those people.”
Rooney scored 12 league goals and made 10 assists, despite being limited to just 22 top-flight starts for the Red Devils last season.
© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. |
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