Wayne Rooney Could Be Set For a Summer Exit From Manchester United

There have been signs in the past week that the relationship between Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney is becoming a little fractured. The Manchester United manager has always been a strict disciplinarian, and notoriously once broke up a late-night party involving young players Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe.

That was 18 years ago and Giggs has since gone on to establish himself as the epitome of the model professional whereas Sharpe was moved to make way for an aspiring young midfielder called David Beckham. Ferguson's decision to keep faith with Giggs has been vindicated by the Welshman's 18 subsequent years of sterling service and allowing Sharpe, who never recaptured his early Manchester United form, to sign with Leeds United for £4.5 million was equally astute.

When Ferguson decides it is time for a player to move on he is ruthless. Club captain Roy Keane was unceremoniously axed in midseason for making critical comments to the club's own television channel, MUTV, in 2005. Talismanic striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was dropped from the squad and sold to Real Madrid after a training ground bust up with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006. This pair was following in the footsteps of the likes of Paul Ince and Beckham, players who were sold by Ferguson at the peak of their careers.

Talk of Rooney becoming the latest player to get the cold shoulder from the Manchester United manager remains little more than conjecture, but many of the elements are in place. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Scouse striker is not going to be a clean living football role model who can enjoy the same sort of longevity as Paul Scholes or Giggs.

The newspaper revelations surrounding his infidelity and alleged use of prostitutes have been particularly damaging, but Rooney is no stranger to controversy. He actually admitted to visiting a brothel in Merseyside when he was 18. Ferguson might have been tempted to write that incident off as a youthful indiscretion, but will be extremely concerned to see that six years has not improved the judgement of this particular player.

Rooney has repeatedly been pictured smoking and drinking and even got caught urinating in the street on an alcohol fuelled night out in Manchester city centre. Last season an injured Rooney was caught on camera trying to conceal the fact that he had ordered a pint of beer for himself during Manchester United's game with Chelsea.

Smoking, drinking and urinating in public do not constitute the greatest crimes in the world, although the latter is technically illegal. Supporters would probably sympathize with Rooney's desire to enjoy a sneaky pint while watching his side play a key fixture, but his manager is unlikely to take such a benevolent view of this behaviour.

The first signs of frustration are starting to show with the pair seemingly at odds over an ankle injury. Rooney has missed Manchester United's last couple of games with Ferguson claiming before the draw against Sunderland that Rooney's ankle, "has been niggling away for a while."

After putting in an unproductive 90-minute shift for his country in midweek, Rooney went on record as denying that there was anything wrong with the aforementioned ankle claiming that, "I've had no ankle problem all season." He was also at a loss to explain why his manager should have claimed anything to the contrary.

Fergusion is frequently less than honest about the fitness of his first team players, but being publically undermined by an employee like this is almost guaranteed to infuriate him.

If Rooney is genuinely injury-free then the most obvious inference is that he has been dropped due to concerns over his state of mind. Doubtless some would argue that players should be allowed to smoke, drink and even womanize as long as it does not impact upon their ability to perform on the pitch. Rooney's recent absence from the Manchester United team provides compelling evidence that his extra curricular activities are having a detrimental effect on his ability to perform for his club.

Ferguson has sold key players for less, and circumstances seem to be conspiring to encourage him to dispense with the services of Rooney. Firstly, Dimitar Berbatov is finally starting to suggest that he might be able to justify his £30 million price tag and the team seems to play better with two strikers than one. Secondly, Manchester United recorded an £84 million annual loss, an issue which needs to be immediately addressed if the club is to continue to qualify for the highly lucrative Champions League.

The £80 million transfer fee Manchester United received for Cristiano Ronaldo is unlikely to ever be matched, but Rooney would probably fetch at least £50 million with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho a known admirer. Ferguson appears to be planning for the future by acquiring young strikers like Bebe and Javier Hernandez, could he covertly be planning for a future without Rooney?

It is at least a possibility. Rooney is only 24 but he has already been a Premiership footballer for eight years, and Ferguson must be wondering if he is ever going to adopt the sort of lifestyle he demands of his players. The Financial Fair Play regulations will probably deflate the transfer market when they are introduced next year, and this summer could conceivably be Manchester United's last opportunity to cash in on their most valuable asset.

When Beckham, Ince and Van Nistelroy were sold it ultimately paved the way for a future generation of Manchester United players who would prove to be at least as good as their predecessors. The loss of Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo has hit the club hard, and while it may have given Rooney a new lease on life, Ferguson's side is rapidly losing ground on Chelsea.

Could Manchester United still be competitive without Rooney? This is the question that everyone connected to the club is slowly starting to ask. The onus will probably be on the likes of Berbatov and Hernandez to provide a definitive answer. If they can contribute enough goals between now and the end of the season, then Ferguson might feel that the time has come to allow Rooney to leave.

They will have a hard act to follow. Rooney scored a career best 34 goals last season, and Manchester United's other strikers probably won't manage that many between them this time around. From a financial perspective the sale of Rooney makes perfect sense, but from a footballing point of view it would be a major risk.

Ferguson has repeatedly regenerated Manchester United but he has never previously had to sell players in order to balance the books. As he reaches the twilight of his managerial career, he must be wondering whether his chances of winning a third Champions League trophy and 12th Premier League title would be irreparably damaged by the loss of his star striker.