5 Reasons Wayne Rooney Should Leave Manchester United

Having spent almost a decade at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles, a FIFA Club World Cup, one Champions League crown, three FA Community Shields and many other accolades in that space of time, Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United tenure could come to its end this summer.

If rumour is to be believed (when is it not), the mercurial Manchester marvel could be deemed surplus to requirements at the Theatre of Dreams (via BBC Sport), a notion that first arose after Rooney was benched for the second leg of United’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

For whatever reasons, there is evidence both for and against the departure, but this article aims to outline just why the Englishman’s end as a Red Devil could be seen as a positive move, for player or club.

Competition Is Rife

With the arrival of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa at Old Trafford last summer, the Manchester United attack has been well and truly shaken up over the last 10 months.

Rooney, a striker by nature, has been shifted further and further aback still in order to accommodate the needs of those around him and, for the majority of the 2012-13 campaign, might be called a midfielder.

Now, that isn’t to say this is a bad move tactically. In fact, Rooney’s attributes and versatility give him the fortune of being able to fill such a role splendidly, and is one he’s even professed to filling in the latter years of his career (via Metro).

However, having too much of a good thing isn’t as good as it might sound to some and with Robin van Persie already taking the main striking position as his own in a variation of the 4-2-3-1 system that Sir Alex Ferguson has deployed this season, there’s little room for others.

Alongside Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck are also competing for places up front while Angelo Henriquez and Will Keane may yet challenge next season.

Meanwhile, the manager is trying to find a comfortable spot for Kagawa, who plays best behind the main striker, the secondary position plugged by Rooney this season.

Ferguson, a known fan of playing with wingers in his system, is unlikely to shift to an out-and-out 4-4-2 strategy in the near future, meaning that places must be found for the likes of Kagawa, Welbeck and Hernandez, all younger prospects than Rooney who many don’t want to see tail off in their development due to a lack of game time.

Even though Rooney already boasts a certain amount of leeway in where he’s allowed to play at Manchester United, Ferguson may decide to put the needs of the many in front of the needs of the few, helping his team rather than just an individual.

After all, no one man is an island.

The European Standard

In simple terms, England is in decline.

This season was the first time since 1996 that no English side had made the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with the growth of the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A all eclipsing the Premier League.

The power balance in football is, like many other things in life, in a constant state of motion. Some divisions, just as some teams do, go through their periods of relative domination and this is not a time where such can be said of the English top flight.

At 27 years of age, Rooney’s next club (should there be one) is where he’s likely to see the best years of his playing career and, as such, are ones that he’ll want to spend as part of the most powerful club possible.

As illustrated by this year’s Champions League, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, several of whom have appeared as possible suitors for Rooney’s signature (via Independent), are possibly the strongest clubs in Europe right now and could be for some years to come.

Although the Englishman’s trophy cabinet is already gleaming, it’s debatable that Rooney’s chances of further European glory, the most coveted of accolades for a majority of professional footballers, are best served outside Manchester United.

Buy High, Sell Higher

Purchased for a fee of around £25 million in the summer of 2004, Wayne Rooney reigned as the most expensive English player for years until Andy Carroll’s £35 million switch from Newcastle United to Liverpool in 2011.

Just 18 years old at the time, many thought such a fee for one so young was extravagant and even unnecessary for others.

However, nine years down the road, hindsight can say that the purchase has done Manchester United proud, and the club would be bound to rake in a profit if they were to sell their star now.

With cash-rich clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all popping up as possible destinations for the player (via Independent), the option of making money on Rooney’s services in what are harsh economical times might be one too tempting to turn down.

With the funds raised from a prospective transfer, United could re-invest in a younger talent more suited to the style and tactics the club are hoping to play, with money left over to boot.

The Midas Touch

An aspect that’s impossible not to consider around transfers as high in profile as this, the financial benefits that Wayne Rooney could reap from any summer switch are an inevitable factor.

Several years ago, the former Everton starlet came close to a Manchester United exit, supposedly due to the rift that existed between his own wage expectations and those that the club were offering him, as well as a myriad of other reasons.

In the end of what was a very well publicised event, the forward agreed to a fresh five-year deal worth £220,000-a-week, making him the third highest-paid player in world football.

Regardless, greed can be a terrible thing and in order to tempt Rooney to other shores, it’s very, very likely that clubs such as PSG and Real will be offering massively lucrative deals worth more than that of which the player currently earns.

Although the money allegedly goes straight to a Paris charity, David Beckham is a recent example of an Englishman to have completed a similar move, currently at Parc des Princes.

Although United are still one of the bigger spenders in England, they do keep a tight grip on certain financial morals—one of which being salary—when compared with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and even Liverpool to an extent.

As such, should Rooney feel he can make more from his playing talents elsewhere, he may decide on just that. 

For Queen and Country

Of all Europe’s elite divisions, England’s Premier League has perhaps become the least open to exporting their players around the continent, as has become the fashion in the last 20-30 years.

Apart from Joe Cole, Michael Owen and David Beckham, it’s difficult to recall any players who, at the time of their departure, were challenging for places in the England squad before leaving for foreign shores.

This is compared to decades gone past when it was more commonplace for English stars to spend time in Italy, Spain and Germany, not always to great result, admittedly.

However, nations such as Holland, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and more recently Belgium, have all shown the benefit of sending players outside their native divisions while retaining a strong international presence.

Using Belgium as a prime example, recent seasons have seen Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele, Kevin Mirallas, Simon Mignolet, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and numerous others all excel in leagues outside the Jupiler League—Belgium’s elite division.

As things stand, England aren’t among the most fearsome of national teams and one theory is that their weakness may lie in too much comfort, playing alongside or against one another every week of the season.

An alternative would be that England’s stars cease what could be called a form of home sickness and once again showcase their skills around Europe, a movement of which Rooney could be at the forefront.

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