Wayne Rooney: Star Striker Won't Leave Manchester United Despite Reports

First come back-to-back losses to second-rate English Premier League clubs, now comes another rumored attempt by Wayne Rooney to excise himself from Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United.

Has the sky fallen yet, Mancunians?

Good, because it won't, so before you get too worked up about the musings of The Independent, consider what the parties involved have to say. 

Here's what the club said about the tabloid story concerning Wazza's supposed spat with Fergie and the rumored transfer demand that said spat has precipitated:

"

We have not seen the detail but can assure all United fans that the Manager and the Club are committed to Wayne Rooney and Wayne is committed to the Manager and the Club.

The player and the Manager have always had and retain the utmost respect for each other and look forward to working together in the coming seasons.

Any suggestion that Manchester United and Wayne Rooney are to part company is complete nonsense.

"

Not convinced? Here's what Rooney himself had to say about the matter via Twitter:

"

The independent are talking absolute rubbish my future is with Manchester United and the club and I are totally commited to each other.

"

This clearly isn't October 2010, when Rooney openly demanded a transfer out of Old Trafford and Fergie acknowledged those demands in public. Neither party has wasted any time squashing the rumors. If anything, the way in which the parties involved pre-empted the gossip is a clear indicator that there's nothing factual behind it.

That's not to say that everything is necessarily rosy between talisman and legend. Wazza ended up in Fergie's doghouse after enjoying a night out on the town after the Red Devils' 5-0 win over Wigan on Boxing Day, though The Daily Mail reports that the boss' reason for benching Rooney and docking his pay had more to do with poor form at training the day after than buying out the bar itself.

The timing of this non-story couldn't be much worse, what with Man U set to tangle with Manchester City in an FA Cup derby at Eastlands on Sunday.

Still, let's all allow Chicken Little to rest for at least a bit longer. He's not needed at Old Trafford right now.

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