Manchester United: Wayne Rooney Can Use England Friendlies to Renew Love of Game

If one man should be relishing the upcoming England friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil it is Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

The former Everton forward will be part of Roy Hodgson's squad for the games at Wembley and the Maracana Stadium as the end to his season.

But the 27-year-old will also be able to use the friendly internationals as an escape from the current controversy over whether he will leave Old Trafford this summer or not.

Rooney became a peripheral figure at United last season as Robin van Persie excelled following his £24 million move from Arsenal last summer.

Pushed out wide or simply left on the bench, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not find the forward as integral to his plans as he had been previously.

In October 2010, Rooney stunned United and Ferguson when he seemed to be on his way to Manchester City, as The Guardian reported, after questioning the ambitions at Old Trafford.

Rooney handed in a transfer request at the time and looked likely to be on his way but performed a major U-turn after being convinced by Ferguson to stay at the club, as BBC Sport reported.

Now Rooney has again questioned his future at United, but this time his stock has been substantially weakened from where it was in 2010.

With Ferguson now leaving Old Trafford, the outgoing manager will leave the decision on Rooney's future to new boss David Moyes.

The former Everton manager has a history with Rooney after giving him his debut at Goodison Park and then winning a libel case against the striker over comments made in the forward's autobiography, as the Daily Telegraph reported.

These are strange times for Rooney, however. His star status has, undeniably, waned recently, and his bargaining power is not where it was three years ago, despite scoring 22 times in 42 appearances this season. 

But escaping the furore and media attention over his United future might just be the catalyst for Rooney to prove himself in an England shirt over the next four days, particularly against Brazil.

While Luiz Felipe Scolari's current team might not be the same force of previous years, they still represent a pinnacle in world football.

Prove yourself against the Brazilians, and the world will sit up and take notice. And that is exactly what Rooney needs right now.

A reinvigorated Rooney can restore his reputation in the next few days by simply enjoying his football again away from the goldfish bowl that is Old Trafford at the moment.

Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich have already been linked with the forward, as the Daily Mail reported, but making a mark in these international games could see United falling back in love with Rooney.