Wayne Rooney is widely expected to leave Manchester United in the summer. Scoring his 250th goal for the club recently appears to have made Rooney think about concluding his time at Old Trafford. Since moving from Everton as a £30 million-teenager in the summer of 2004, Rooney has come a long way. He has managed to win numerous honours including the Champions League. He has also been voted as the FWA Player of the Year while also winning the PFA Player of the Year title.
Rooney has been heavily linked with a move to China. Chinese clubs have reportedly offered the player around £1 million in wages each week. It would be a stunning deal which could see Rooney become the best paid player in the world making more than £50 million each year. Despite all these accolades and being just 31 years old, speculation is rife that Chinese clubs may not be able to offer much in terms of transfer fees to United. Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan have reportedly come in with an offer of just £20 million for the captain, say the Manchester Evening News.
The Beijing outfit’s honorary chairman Luo Ning claimed that the club have been interested in Rooney from the summer, but it looks increasingly unlikely that the 31-year-old may move to China. With the recent expansion of the MLS, more teams and options are available for players joining the North American league. Ning said:
“We indeed made an approach for Rooney at the beginning of the season but he’s informed us that he wants to stay in Manchester United.
“Rooney says he’ll keep playing in the Premier League as long as his health allows. We even met with this agent.”
Even though Rooney will be out of contract in the summer of 2019, it is highly unlikely that United will accept such a law transfer fee especially from clubs in China. The Red Devils would have seen the likes of Chelsea make astronomical profits by selling players to China. Brazilian midfielder Oscar was brought to Chelsea for £25 million and he was recently sold for a whopping £52 million. Such as the financial clout of the Chinese clubs that United will easily look in the region of £40 million for Rooney. A surprising development with regard to the 31-year-old is that he appears to prefer a move to the MLS rather than China.
The MLS has been the preferred destination for English players. David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Robbie Keane are some of the star British names to have joined the North American league in favour of riches from the Middle East. China is the latest to offer riches, but it seems that the high-profile MLS coupled with the better standard of living in the United States could appeal to Rooney rather than the highly polluted Shanghai or Beijing.
