Manchester United must be severely tempted to cut loose and sell their captain.
In a recent conference call with United investors, and journalists, club chief executive Ed Woodward talked excitedly about the possibilities of offloading star names to Chinese Super League outfits.
Imagine it, dumping Phil Jones for £25m, Juan Mata for £40m or Bastian Schweinsteiger for £30m. Enough to make a man like Woodward giddy.
One can only guess, then, at the executive’s reaction when a £100m bid for Wayne Rooney wafted his way.
The Mirror are reporting that a Super League side, believed to be Shanghai Shenhua, are willing to pay £27m [€35m] for the 30-year-old.
United might be expecting more for their record scorer but that is what bargaining is all about. As it stands, United may be content to get £27m for Rooney and get his £300,000 per week wages off the slate.
Friday's Daily Mirror back page:
Exclusive – £100m Roo bid#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #mufc pic.twitter.com/I1677pcR3j— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) February 18, 2016
Given the £500,000 a week offer said to be on the table for Rooney, for three years, the whole deal would work out as £102m. Staggering.
Shenhua already have strikers Demba Ba and Obafemi Martins on their books but they may be seeking Rooney’s presence to create their very own Neymar-Suarez-Messi triumvirate in Shanghai.
