Jose Mourinho says he has called a halt to Chelsea’s
pursuit of Wayne Rooney, claiming that Manchester
United were adamant the England striker would not be sold to a
domestic rival. Rooney is likely to miss Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge
with a continuation of his groin injury, and his manager David Moyes also
said yesterday that he was not for sale.
Chelsea tried to prise Rooney away from Old Trafford last summer, during his
rift with United. They made successive and public bids of £20 million and
£30 million to force the issue, and while United made it clear both publicly
and privately that Rooney would not be sold, Chelsea’s interest remained
undimmed. Now, with Fernando Torres approaching some sort of form, Mourinho
appears to have admitted defeat.
“I’m happy with the squad we have,” Mourinho said. “Manchester United made it
clear in the summer that they don’t swap or sell players to their direct
rivals. They were clear in the way they approached the Rooney situation. For
them, it’s pretty clear. They don’t swap. They don’t sell. Do I see that
changing? No.”
Of course, given that this was the consummate verbal tactician Mourinho
speaking, it might be wise to take the above words with a pinch of salt. In
an impish attempt to churn the clanking gears of the rumour mill one more
time, he suggested that United might still be persuaded to sell Rooney to a
foreign club: “I think maybe this summer they will try to sell to a
non-direct rival.” For his part, Moyes said: “I completely disagree. I can
only tell you I disagree,” when informed of Mourinho’s latest remarks on the
striker’s future.
“Although he will go to Brazil at the end of the season. I wouldn’t talk about
other managers at other clubs and I wouldn’t talk about other players at
other clubs. But managers have their own style. I wouldn’t do it. Only time
will give you the answer about Wayne.
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