• Premier League

United play it cool over Rooney contract

ESPN staff
July 14, 2013

Manchester United have suggested they are willing to run Wayne Rooney's contract down and are not in talks with any players about extending their stay at Old Trafford.

Rooney has entered the last 24 months of his current deal and his transfer market value will decrease as he nears the final year of it.

But while manager David Moyes said he wants the striker to stay with the Premier League champions, chief executive Ed Woodward has no plans to negotiate with the England international or his representatives.

"There are no contract renewals that are being discussed. I am not sitting down with any player on an extension and there is no trigger date in the diary," Woodward is quoted by the Daily Mail. "Would we be afraid to run a contract down? Of course not."

Rooney, who cost United £25.6 million from Everton in 2004, has been linked with Chelsea after becoming unsettled at the end of last season, when Sir Alex Ferguson said he asked to leave.

Jose Mourinho admitted he "likes" the forward, who has scored 197 goals for United, but Moyes is adamant he is not for sale.

United have tended to be keen to prevent players from leaving on free transfers at the end of their contract, selling men such as Dimitar Berbatov and Ji-Sung Park when they had a year left on their deal and could still command a fee.

But they have several senior players who are out of contract next summer, including veterans Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs, who signed one-year deals, captain Nemanja Vidic and vice-captain Patrice Evra, and Nani, who, as the youngest of them, has the most value on the balance sheet.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices