Wayne Rooney recently broke the goal record at Manchester United and it has sparked an incredible amount of transfer rumours linking the England captain with a move to the Chinese Super League. The clubs from China may have recently been limited by the rules that prevents them from having more than three foreign players in the squad, but that has not stopped plenty of clubs from looking at Rooney as a feasible option. Rooney has so far been quiet on his future, but his inability to feature regularly under Jose Mourinho’s management has questioned his longevity at Old Trafford.
At 31 years of age, he still has a lot of years of top-level football left in him, but Rooney would rather play regularly then sit on the bench making £250,000 per week at Manchester United. United would also benefit from selling the player as it would free the wages for another player – potentially Gareth Bale or Antoine Griezmann.
Now, the recent rumours indicated that Chinese clubs are ready to make Rooney the highest-paid player in the world at wages of around £700,000-a-week (Metro).
Hulk, Axel Witsel, Tevez, and Oscar are some of the big money signings for Chinese clubs in the last month. Even if it does not happen in January, Rooney is widely expected to move to the Chinese Super League. As one of the instantly recognisable stars in the world, he will command a lot of importance.
Rooney became the record goalscorer at United – breaking the 44-year-old record of Sir Bobby Charlton – by scoring his 250th goal in the 1-1 draw with Stoke City. Following this effort, it has been rumoured that Manchester United are ready to let the player leave if an offer comes along the way. Rooney has a contract with the club until the summer of 2019, but United respect the fact that he has served the club brilliantly for more than 10 years. A recent testimonial with Everton earned the player a £ 1 million figure, which has been given to charity.
‘For all we know, both Shanghai clubs in the CSL [Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG] have finished their transfer business and there is no vacancy for foreign players whatsoever,’ the statement read, as quoted by Metro.
‘The head of Shanghai FA described the report as totally groundless and sheer fictitious.
‘Both Shanghai clubs have reiterated their promise to obey those 18 new rules introduced by the Chinese Football Association [CFA] to promote the healthy and stable development of the professional football leagues.’
Shanghai Football Association, however, has denied rumours that Shanghai SIPG are about to make a mega-money move for the United striker. The club are expected to have intense competition from Shanghai Shenhua, who are probably more desperate for a top signing. Shanghai SIPG splashed out £60 million on Chelsea midfielder Oscar in January. Shanghai FA went on to claim that all Chinese clubs are expected to adhere to the new set of rules, which have been designed to promote the development of the game in China rather than bring in expensive signings from abroad.
