“I hope I will play a full part in helping the team in its fight for success on four fronts. It’s an exciting time at the club and I want to remain a part of it,” said Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney.
The first of those targets is just 48 hours away as United face Southampton in the EFL Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday.
Rooney said: “Despite the interest which has been shown from other clubs, for which I’m grateful, I want to end recent speculation and say that I am staying at Manchester United.”
Rooney, whose contract expires at the end of next season, will have the immediate goal of proving his fitness for Sunday in a United side who remain in the FA Cup, Europa League and are sixth in the Premier League, just two points off a Champions League spot.
And, with midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick both sustaining injuries in Wednesday’s Europa League stroll over Saint-Etienne, the path has opened for Rooney to regain a place in the 18-man squad on duty at Wembley.
Beyond Sunday and the remaining three months of this season, however, Rooney’s future at Old Trafford is far less certain.
His agent Paul Stretford was in Beijing yesterday, initially fuelling the belief that the England forward could be heading east before China closes its transfer window on Tuesday.
However, Stretford has other business interests in the country and his presence there was more of a fact-finding mission with an eye on a possible summer move for his client.
Although the money on offer from Chinese clubs could make Rooney the world’s wealthiest footballer, with salary figures of £3 million a month being circulated, the England star is hesitant for family reasons.
And part of Stretford’s mission this week has been to weigh up, on his client’s behalf, whether he is prepared to relocate and move away from his extended family.
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