There has been plenty written about Wayne Rooney over the past few years. Some of it good and some of it not so good. There have been times when he has deserved the good press and others where he has deserved the bad. Occasionally, there have even been times when he hasn’t deserved some of the things said about him, whether good or bad!
To say that he is a legend at Manchester United is not true. Sir Bobby Charlton’s record number of goals stood for forty years for one reason and one reason only: nobody else remained at the club for long enough to break it.
Wayne Rooney has achieved, by staying at Manchester United for thirteen years, what the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Cole would also have achieved had they stayed at the club that long. Barring injuries and the fact that he was a “super-sub”, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would also have broken the record. Of these players were any of them truly legendary at Old Trafford?
The answer has to be “no”. Cristiano Ronaldo IS a legendary footballer but his status has been achieved through outstanding contributions to both United and Real Madrid, with the Spanish team, arguably, benefitting slightly more from his career than did United.
There are plenty of people prepared to use the word “legend” for anybody who has worn a United shirt. In general, these people are idiots who know very little about the game of football and include many working in the PR room at Old Trafford.
It’s a little like the sixties, when fans used to go and watch The Beatles. There was so much noise that not a word of the songs was ever heard, but these were so-called “fans”. It was so annoying to John Lennon that The Beatles stopped touring while still reasonably young in order to concentrate on studio work.
In my humble opinion, for Wayne Rooney to ever be considered a legend at United his behaviour off the pitch would have had to have been a lot better than it was. All United supporters are aware of the times he has held the club to ransom. Times when, instead of selling him,(which they should have done), they gave him massive new contracts.
Never on the field, has he fully repaid all the money which has been “invested” in him. He threatened, when young, to become a great player. It remained an empty threat, he never reached greatness. At times he was capable of things only a few other players could achieve, but these times were far too fleeting.
He will probably end his playing days in China where he will reap even greater rewards than he currently enjoys. He has said he doesn’t want to play for another Premier League club. This is a little rich considering that, not that long ago, he would happily have gone to Chelsea and, had the fans not “dissuaded” him, Manchester City.
No, he appears to have realised that none of the top English clubs would now be prepared to buy him and so has changed tactic by saying that he wants to stay at United. Hopefully, United won’t fall for it a third time.