Why Wayne Rooney Should Stay at Manchester United Despite PSG Interest

According to ESPN (h/t The Times), Wayne Rooney will be the subject of a big-money bid from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

With Robin van Persie now the No. 1 attraction at Old Trafford, speculation has risen that the former Everton forward could switch clubs at the culmination of the 2012-13 season.

The purported bid is approximately £40 million, and ESPN believe Sir Alex Ferguson might just be tempted to say yes considering the plethora of striking options available to him.

But that wouldn't be the right choice—and we've certainly been here before.

In 2012 the England international was reportedly offered a £65 million move to Real Madrid as an "escape route" (via Metro), while there's a long-standing gossip link to archrivals Manchester City that just won't go away.

But as we come toward the end of the 2012-13 season, Rooney is still a Red Devil and tiptoes ever closer to making it a decade in Manchester.

It's difficult to find a rationale in leaving Manchester United at this moment in time. Rooney is a ferocious character, and while this season's title race is all but over, next season City will come back with a vengeance.

That rivalry, that passion and that fire is something each and every player donning a shirt should look forward to, and this will be plainly absent in the French Ligue 1 next year.

If PSG do what is widely expected of them and secure the title, les Parisiens will simply go from strength to strength and widen the gap.

Ligue 1 is rapidly moving away from the time where anyone could win it.

They've had four different winners (Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille and Montpellier) over the last four years, but that's due to a lack of money in French football. With a change in finance, some certifiable dominance will also occur.

The report also suggests Rooney isn't happy now he's not the centre of attention, but you've got to ask yourself, do things change in Paris?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Those are some pretty big names, and there's also the up-and-coming ones in Marco Verratti and Mamadou Sakho.

The furor caused by David Beckham's signature is not something Rooney's could reproduce.

Someone in the Manchester United board room might be happy to relinquish Rooney's £250,000-per-week wage, but I'm betting the fans won't be quite so eager to see a favourite go.

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