Wayne Rooney and Manchester United Would've Been Better off Parting Ways

It was time for Manchester United stalwart Wayne Rooney to move away from the Red Devils like his hair was once moving away from his forehead. 

However, it does not appear that will be the case. 

According to Sky Sports News, new Manchester United manager David Moyes has no intention of selling Rooney:

This statement, of course, was necessary after a seemingly endless round of speculation that Rooney would be playing elsewhere next year. That speculation was well founded, too. 

After all, as Fifa.com reminds us, that is what Rooney wanted: 

And United was not going to be at a loss for offers. For instance, Mirror reported Arsenal made a bid around £20 million for Rooney. 

However, according to Moyes, the Red Devils will be rebuffing all offers, and it doesn't make sense. Rooney is still a talented and valuable player, but Old Trafford is not the best place for him.  

Rooney is used to being the man. Last season with Manchester United, he was not. He fell to third on the team in scoring behind Robin van Persie and Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. Rooney notched just 16 goals in all competitions.

That came a year after he posted a 34-goal campaign for Manchester. 

The drop off in production was largely beyond the control of the 27-year-old. The addition of van Persie meant Rooney didn't have a defined role on the team. 

As a result, he was used in different spots and with varying degrees of playing time. 

The lack of a defined role and playing time was not something Rooney seemed overly excited about—hence his desire, as stated by Ferguson, to move. 

Of course, things will look different on the sideline for United next season with Moyes taking over. And, at some point, I have to believe Moyes talked about his intentions for Rooney with the striker and that the two both felt good about where things were going. 

However, the Red Devils still have van Persie and Chicharito on the roster. It is hard to see Rooney being offered any guarantees at minutes with those two battling with him to get on the pitch. 

And that all leads to my main point of contention with this pairing going forward: Wayne Rooney is not going to be content being below other players in the pecking order, and having Rooney sitting around unhappy is not going to be good for anyone. 

The Red Devils could have got a massive pile of cash for Rooney, and as he moves past his prime this wouldn't have been a bad idea to begin with. Instead, they held onto him. Now, his value will only diminish as his role on the team begins to blur. 

That is far less than ideal for both Rooney and the Red Devils.