Where does a player go after Man Utd?

WHEN you leave Manchester United there is generally only one direction to go — and very rarely is it upwards.

Real Madrid? Possibly. Barcelona? Again you could argue the point.

But as far as I’m aware, neither of them have Wayne Rooney top of their wanted list this summer.

Anywhere apart from Spain’s big two and you’re not in the same league as United, certainly in terms of the size of the club and all that goes with it.

Which is why, in my honest opinion, I’ve got serious doubts as to whether Wayne actually slapped in a transfer request at all.

I know, I know! Sir Alex Ferguson did say the striker wants out and I’m well aware he didn’t feature in Sunday’s celebrations.

But for me, something just doesn’t add up in all of this. It’s almost too bizarre for words.

Here you have a young lad, at the peak of his powers, who apparently — if what people are trying to have us believe is true — couldn’t get motivated enough to play in his manager’s final game in charge at Old Trafford.

A game which, with the title already won, was as close to a footballing party as you’re ever going to get in the Premier League. And one which Rooney supposedly asked not to be considered for.

It’s almost as though Sir Alex’s parting gift as manager is to lob in a hand grenade and step aside.

Surely if Wayne was so determined to go, it would have made more sense for the new manager to make that decision.

I realise David Moyes will now ultimately have that say — but in some ways it’s as though the route he should take has already been mapped out for him.

But not wanting to play? Asking for a transfer? I’m sorry, but in my book that is all a bit too strange to believe.

I’ve heard suggestions it could be a bit of Fergie payback, after the fallout from the last round of contract talks a couple of years ago.
Payback? For what? His agent trying to get the best deal for the player?

Look, it’s far from given that Rooney will actually be going anywhere this summer.

And don’t give me any of that rubbish about him being unable to work with Moyes, because they had their own fallout a while back.

Those differences were sorted out a long time ago and Rooney has worked under the new United manager before. After all, who was it who gave him his Everton debut and had such a big hand in his early career?

Surely it should have been left to Moyesie to handle the situation from start to finish, rather than walking into the middle of a minefield in his first week.

Wayne, just like pretty much every player in the game, wants to play football. Of course he will have a favoured position, everyone does, but I can’t buy the suggestion he asked not to be considered on Sunday.

I tell you what, you would struggle to find many players who’d do that. I know from my own experiences of old.

I fell out with Bruce Rioch when he was Arsenal manager but that doesn’t mean you suddenly don’t want to play for the club.

Me and Rioch might not have got on, but I still went out and played football.

Yes, I wasn’t particularly happy around the place with him but at no stage was I ever anything but delighted to be out there on the pitch.

Whether you don’t have any love for the manager or not, you still want to be out there with your team-mates, scoring goals and doing the best you can for your club.

We’ve seen it before with Fergie and United — when they think it might be time to cash in on a player, his feet don’t touch the floor.

I saw an interview with Jaap Stam, who said that when he was sold, he was as baffled as anyone else because it came right out of the blue.

Look at how Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Ince, to name two more, left the club. No hint they were off, but all of a sudden they’d gone.

So it does beg the question, are United the ones who are driving this rather than Rooney asking for a move?

Are they pushing him towards the door because they know this is the time to get the optimum price for the player?

The only thing certain in all this is it’s left Moyes with a huge issue to deal with the second he walks into Old Trafford.

And it’s not as though he won’t have a big enough job on his hands as it is.

I’d like to add my congratulations to Frank Lampard for breaking Bobby Tambling’s record as Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer — from MIDFIELD.

Everything Lamps has achieved he’s deserved and he’s handled himself with nothing but total dignity from the start. Well done, mate.

ON June 6, I will be getting on my bike for a four-day charity ride from London to Paris to help raise funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.