Wayne Rooney sat in Sir Alex Ferguson’s office, trying to keep a straight face while he insisted his request to leave Manchester United was nothing to do with wanting more money and everything to do with the club lacking ambition.
Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, had warned his client wanted out in meetings with then-chief executive David Gill. Ferguson was shocked when Gill called him to let him know. They had expected to sit down with Rooney the following summer to sign a new contract.
Ferguson was told Rooney was coming to see him. And in the meeting Rooney repeated Stretford’s claims, citing the club’s failure to sign Mesut Ozil ahead of Real Madrid as an example.
It was a strange argument to make, given United had narrowly missed out on winning a record fourth straight Premier League title, and had been Champions League winners only two years before.
“I told him that to say we weren’t ambitious was nonsense,” Ferguson later wrote in his autobiography.
Ferguson told Rooney it was none of his business who they signed, that it was his job to go out and play, and Ferguson’s to pick the team. And that, so far, the Scot had been doing alright.
But with news of Rooney’s feelings leaking into the public, on 20 October, 2010, two hours before a Champions League game against Bursaspor, Rooney confirmed his desire to leave in a 227-word statement.
“I met with David Gill last week and he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad,” he said.
“I then told him that I would not be signing a new contract. I was interested to hear what Sir Alex had to say yesterday and surprised by some of it.
“It is absolutely true, as he said, that my agent and I have had a number of meetings with the club about a new contract. During those meetings in August I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world.
“I have never had anything but complete respect for Manchester United. How could I not have done, given its fantastic history and especially the last six years in which I have been lucky to play a part?
“For me it’s all about winning trophies – as the club has always done under Sir Alex. Because of that I think the questions I was asking were justified.
“Despite recent difficulties, I know I will always owe Sir Alex Ferguson a huge debt. He is a great manager and mentor who has helped and supported me from the day he signed me from Everton when I was only 18.
“For Manchester United’s sake I wish he could go on forever because he’s a one-off and a genius.”
Compare this, then, to what Marcus Rashford said about the prospect of leaving United during an interview with Henry Winter, posted on his X account on 17 December last year.
Asked if he was staying or going, all Rashford said was: “For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.”
Sure, you can interpret that as a footballer wanting to leave.
But you can also interpret it as a footballer slightly bruised from being dropped for the derby that weekend, on the back of weeks of stories about the club being open to selling him, and making clear that he can handle a move elsewhere, if that is where this is going.
It was hardly a chest-beating, transfer ultimatum, come-and-get-me plea. It was 15 words – 10, if you cut the first five to keep the wordcount down.
Yet since then, Rashford has been treated savagely.
Ruben Amorim has slaughtered him publicly in press conferences. United pundits have torn him apart. Rashford has had his professionalism questioned.
His shirt number was stripped from him and handed to a new signing. He was told to train away from the first team during preseason, only allowed into Carrington, the training ground, after 5pm, to avoid contact with the other players.
Is it any way to treat a local lad, with the club since age seven, 10 years in the first team, scorer of 136 goals in 426 appearances and winner of several trophies in a period relatively fallow compared to the Ferguson years?
The Rooney matter was dealt with swiftly after his statement dropped. The Glazers held a meeting the next day, Rooney was offered a contract that made him one of the highest paid players in the country that he would sign by the following one.
Some of the players were irked by the incident. But it obviously didn’t affect them too greatly: they won the title that season.
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Rooney apologised to Ferguson face-to-face. Ferguson told him it was the fans he needed to apologise to. The Scot always thought they soured on Rooney after that.
Ferguson moved on. “It blew over quickly,” he recalled.
But there was something Ferguson said on television after the Bursaspor match, while the storm was raging, that stood out.
“What we’re seeing now in the media is disappointing because we’ve done everything we can for Wayne Rooney, since the minute he’s come to the club,” Ferguson said.
“We’ve always been there as a harbour for him. Any time he’s had a problem, we’ve given advice. But you do that for all your players, not just Wayne Rooney.
“That’s Manchester United. This is a club which bases all its history and its tradition on the loyalty and trust between managers and players and the club. That goes back to the days of Sir Matt Busby. That’s what it’s founded on.
“Wayne’s been a beneficiary of this help, just as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and all the players have been. That’s what we’re there for.”
You hear that and wonder how Manchester United strayed so far from that path.
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