Five clubs who are in the running to land Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
5. Real Madrid
Despite his falling out of favour in England, his stock remains particularly high in Spain.
Real president Florentino Perez has spoken of his admiration for Rooney in the past and the popularity of recruiting such stars is always welcome amongst the Real faithful.
As shown by Rooney’s prominence on the front of pages of the Spanish newspapers ahead of United’s Champions League clash with the club last season, he continues to be regarded as one of Europe’s elite players in Spain, however, Real have targeted a number of fellow top players this summer with the likes of Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez reported as targets high on the wish list, a move for Rooney may have to be put on the back burner.
The La Liga giants will be in the market for a striker, though, with Gonzalo Higauin on the way out and Luis Suarez backtracking on his sentiments about leaving England, a space for the former Everton man could very well open up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
4. Monaco
Since returning to the French top flight, the principality club have been linked to anyone and everyone who would cost over £20 million that may be available.
Seemingly already trying to buy their way to the top of the table they’ve already added an impressive array of new faces including; Ricardo Carvalho, Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho and Eric Abidal.
More are set to follow and they’ll surely be looking to pair the world class Falcao alongside another established international in front of goal.
Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev had been known to put the England striker on his shopping list back in May, but has so far failed to make his move, though coach Claudio Ranieri will be familiar with the striker after his time in charge with Chelsea.
There will be obvious perks for Rooney moving to a tax haven such as Monaco, and the lifestyle in that part of the world would appeal to anybody, though could the club, despite the heavy investment, really match up to that of his own, and vice versa?
He and Falcao leading the line would certainly be fearsome, and marketable, which would be another huge bonus to the club, but out of the five clubs said to be seriously interested in taking him away from Old Trafford it seems that Monaco would have to work the hardest to make it happen.
3. Paris Saint Germain
Why would PSG buy Wayne Rooney? Because they can, apparently. However, the French champions now appear to be genuine contenders for his signature even though they’ve just added Edinson Cavani from Napoli for £55 million.
But Cavani’s arrival at the Parc des Princes could herald the exit of the enigmatic Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after many don’t believe that the pair can play together.
The French side’s hierarchy have moved to deny this, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be sold, and if he is then there will be a vacant slot up front for the club that Rooney could fill just nicely.
A move abroad wasn’t what many people would expect Rooney to plump for, but he’d be living in one of the most fashionable and chic cities in the world (which will go down well with wife, Colleen,) he’ll be in a culture where his every move is not painstakingly scrutinised and he’ll have the welcome addition of Champions League football just to top it all off.
The break may do him good, both as a player and a person, and PSG wouldn’t be the kind of place where any of his problems would be left to fester; he’d be resoundly taken care of.
2. Arsenal
Arsene Wenger quickly made his feeling known concerning the 27-year-old’s desire to leave the champions, instantly declaring his interest. Jack Wilshire wants him there too, having played alongside him at international level he knows what the former Everton man is all about.
“He is the type of player who can win you trophies – and just to see his name on the team sheet brings fear to the opposition. We could do with a little more of that,” Wilshire said recently.
And perhaps he’s right – nine years at Old Trafford has yielded 197 goals in 400 appearances, and that’s not counting his input into the goals scored by others when he’s playing behind the front two. He’s a natural born goalscorer who is more than capable of replacing Robin Van Persie, as well as playing alongside him.
A big fee and a big wage are expected to be tabled, all we have to do now is get used to the idea of him wearing a different kind of red shirt.
1. Chelsea
Chelsea are now the favourites and after Rooney’s ever so convenient hamstring injury forcing him to return from United’s training camp in Thailand we could soon see Rooney in a blue jersey.
Jose Mourinho likes him saying; “I always tell what I see. He’s a player that I like very much. Being fast and direct I like him very much.”
It’s also widely believed that Chelsea are frantically trying to make room for him in the squad too, with either Demba Ba or Fernando Torres set to make way to accommodate the England man.
Chelsea feel that he is the kind of player who very rarely becomes available and that given there is a chance of acquiring him, they have to make sure they are at the front of the queue.
Mourinho is thought to be keen to partner him next to Romelu Lukaku for a truly terrifying frontline indeed.
The thought of Mourinho and Rooney working together is also most entertaining, but at the same time there is a real likelihood that the special will be able to tap into a part of Rooney’s psyche that Alex Ferguson just couldn’t reach.