WAYNE ROONEY has revealed that Paul Scholes injured him in training on the day that Sir Alex Ferguson announced that he wanted to leave Manchester United.
Rooney, now 38, caused shockwaves by initially refusing to sign a new deal amid Manchester City’s shock interest in him in 2010.
United’s star striker missed United’s Champions League clash with Bursaspor the following day, with the club citing a training ground “knock”.
Rooney has now lifted the lid on what really happened during that session.
He told Gary Neville on Sky Bet’s The Overlap: “You wanted to win them games [Friday training matches], some of the tackles which went in were horrific, he [Sir Alex Ferguson] used to stop the game and make us go in.
“Scholesy put me out for eight weeks the day before a game. It was the day the gaffer did his press conference where I wanted to leave, so I’m sure the gaffer had a word with him before training.
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“No, I’m joking.”
He then added: “When the manager knew I wasn’t fit to play he went and did the press conference.”
During that presser, Ferguson revealed: “We are as bemused as anyone can be, we can’t quite understand why he would want to leave.”
In a chat with MUTV that day, Ferguson added: “I was in the office on 14 August and David phoned me to say he [Rooney] wasn’t signing a contract.
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“I was dumbfounded. Only months before he was saying he was at the greatest club in the world.”
Incredibly, Rooney performed a U-turn and signed a new contract just two days later.
At the time, Wazza said: “I said on Wednesday the manager’s a genius and it’s his belief and support that convinced me to stay.”
Fergie added: “I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is.
“I’m pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United’s great players.
“It shows character and belief in what we stand for.”
Having learned from Ferguson during his playing days, Rooney has now made the latest step in his own fledgling managerial career by joining Plymouth Argyle.
SunSport revealed earlier this week that Wazza has begun house hunting in Devon hotspot Salcombe.
He will face a dilemma during the Euros, however, as he has already signed up to work for the BBC in Germany.
Rooney on Man Utd
Wazza has had his say on his former club
Wayne Rooney believes that Manchester United are suffering from a lack of leaders.
He said: “Firstly, I would say you need around five players in a dressing room that can lead a team.
“One thing I would say with Manchester United now is, I look at the team and you’re still asking questions about who the leader is. I know Bruno (Fernandes) is the captain, but who are the leaders there.
“I said this a few weeks ago, when Marcus Rashford was getting stuck for his body language. I think he’s always been like that.
“I don’t think he has ever been a big talker on the pitch. When he is going through a tough moment, or you want him to work a little bit harder, that is where the senior players have got to demand that from him.
“That’s the one thing I’d say that I don’t see.
“Every time Manchester United concede a goal their heads go down to quickly and you almost think there is no way back their getting back into the game.”
During his recent chat with Neville, Rooney also lifted the lid on being sued by his former Everton boss David Moyes.
He said: “David Moyes was good for me at Everton. He sued me after I left the club as I hammered him when I left because of how I felt at the time.
“I spoke to him a few years after I left, I called him up and apologised because the older you get, you realise why he was doing things.
“At the time, I felt like he was singling me out whilst I was at the club and treating me differently to the other players. One of them was that he had me running around the local park by myself with the physio.
“It was new to him, to have a player getting all those headlines, for him to figure out he was a young manager at the time, it was new to him. When I look back, he was good for me, he was constantly on me. He was trying to not let me think that I was better than I was.
“I was hard work. In the indoor gym, I was setting big rockets off from one end of the gym to the other, Moysey has walked in, I was sixteen.”
In addition to Moyes, Rooney also clashed with former Man Utd coach Rene Meulensteen during his playing days.
Looking back, he reflected: “There are times it goes too far, and when you look back at some of the stuff, I said to coaches on the training pitch, looking back and being on that side now, you hope a player doesn’t do that.
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“There were a few bad [occasions]. There was one with Rene, where I’ve gone for him big time and the manager pulled me into his office after the session.
“There were a few people watching in training, it was Rene’s wife and kids – I had no idea and I felt so bad.”
Rooney on England’s Euro 2024 chances
Rooney reckons the Three Lions have a strong chance of glory this summer
Discussing the Three Lions, former skipper Wazza said: “England can win Euro 2024.
“I think what we have now is that other countries are starting to fear England a little bit.
“In previous tournaments, other teams could see that England were good, but there was never that fear.
“However, with England now, there is fear.”
On the Three Lions’ current captain, Wazza boldly claimed: “I think Harry Kane is an incredible player.
“The goals he’s scored, the assists and as of the last few years, I would say he’s England’s greatest ever player. He’s always professional and he never misses a game, which is a common theme with players like Jude Bellingham, Kane and Phil Foden.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
