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As if the transition from the management of Sir Alex Ferguson to David Moyes after 26 seasons of Ferguson running the sporting side of Manchester United were not enough of a handful to deal with over the summer, now the team must deal with drama related to Wayne Rooney.
The latest issue now between Wayne Rooney and Manchester United comes on the heels of Rooney declaring that he feels angry and disappointed by recent comments made by Moyes.
The latest Rooney-Manchester United saga started up back in February when Manchester United faced off against Real Madrid in Round 16 of the Champions League. Before the first leg game, it was announced that Rooney would not be in the starting 11 as Ferguson opted to start Danny Welbeck because he offered a better option, tactically.
That decision spoke volumes of where Rooney was at that point physically and where is game is for Ferguson to not hesitate benching him. This was confirmed as he also left Rooney off the starting 11 for the return leg back at Old Trafford. As Ferguson managed his last home match as manager of Manchester United and Rooney was left off the team sheet for the game, it was clear that things between player and club had reached critical mass.
Fast forward to today and the time has come for a decision to be made and for me it is clear, Manchester United needs to move on and just sell Wayne Rooney. Yes, he one of the better English players; yes, he is only 27 years old; yes, he most recently scored 27 league goals in 34 league games during the 2011-12 Premier League campaign but the time has come for the club to move on and sell him while he still has significant value.
Let’s begin with the fact that this is not the first time Rooney has pouted and acted like a spoiled brat. Aside from his latest temper tantrum at the club, which first surfaced in February, Rooney has pulled a similar stunt of claiming to be angry and or disappointed at the manager. Back in October 2010, Rooney claimed that he wanted to quit the club as negotiations on a new contract stalled. Eventually he made a U-turn on those comments and signed a new five-year contract, the one he is now supposedly not happy about now.
So now that the club has stated that they are content to let his contract run out in a clear-strategical move on their part, Rooney is angry? This is a clear case of the kettle calling the pot black and also, angry over what exactly? Last time I checked Rooney was the second highest paid player in the Premier League earning £180,000 per week.
Okay so Rooney is angry and disappointed about the fact that Moyes said that he was not guaranteed to automatically be in his starting 11 come the start of the season. What does he expect a man who is coming in as a new manager at a big club suppose to say?
Let’s also remember fitness has been an issue with Wayne Rooney since the start of the year. Forget the fact he was sent home from preseason training because he suffered a hamstring injury, let’s also remember that part of the reason he did not start those games against Real Madrid was because he was not physically fit to carry out what Ferguson needed from a player in that role.
One of the things that characterized and made Sir Alex Ferguson so great was knowing when to say goodbye to star players when it came time to move on. This also reinforced that he was in charge. Coming in as the man replacing the legend, David Moyes now faces a decision, which could make or break his career with Manchester United. The decision he with support from the club directors is say goodbye to Wayne Rooney.
While the club has rejected an initial bid from Chelsea for Rooney, this should only be a ploy to get a higher offer. Club and player have run their course and both will be better off no longer being together.
Lucas Carreras is a contributing Soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow Lucas on Twitter by following him @maldini3fan and you can add him to your circles on Google+.
