- Wayne Rooney handed in a transfer request at Man United in October 2010
- He has revealed one of his team-mates injured him straight afterwards
- CHRIS SUTTON weighs in on who won the battle between Ian Ladyman and Erik ten Hag – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Wayne Rooney has revealed he was injured in training by one of his Manchester United team-mates after he handed in a transfer request in 2010.
Rooney sensationally went public about his desire to leave Old Trafford in October 2010 after questioning the direction of the club following the team’s failure to win the league the previous season.
United had been unable to keep hold of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez a year earlier, and Rooney told chief executive David Gill he would not be signing a new contract and wished to move elsewhere.
The former England captain was accused of showing a lack of respect for the club by Sir Alex Ferguson, and Rooney has suggested some his team-mates were not happy with his desire to leave either.
Speaking on The Overlap with Gary Neville, brought to you by Sky Bet, Rooney claimed he was injured by a ‘horrific’ tackle from United legend Paul Scholes straight after his transfer request, and even joked that Ferguson may have told Scholes to do it.
‘You wanted to win them games [Friday training matches], some of the tackles which went in were horrific,’ Rooney said.
‘He [Sir Alex Ferguson] used to stop the game and make us go in. Scholesy [Paul Scholes] put me out 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. No, I’m joking.’
Rooney performed an extraordinary U-turn just two days after saying he wanted out, as he put pen to paper on a new five-year deal and vowed to win back the trust of United’s supporters.
But he was unable to play for another month following Scholes’ tackle in training, as he did not return to action until he came on as a substitute in a 2-0 win against Wigan on November 20.
Rooney put the doubts over his future behind him to lead United to the Premier League title that season – their 12th under Ferguson – while the team also made the Champions League final before losing to Barcelona at Wembley.
Rooney scored in that final, but a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona ran out deserved 3-1 winners at the home of English football.
He remained at United until 2017, and became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in his final season, overtaking Sir Bobby Charlton.
Click here to resize this module
His 13-year spell at Old Trafford saw him score 253 goals in 559 games, and he won every major honour with the club during this period, including five league titles, four League Cups and the Champions League.
Despite being kept out of action for a month by Scholes, Rooney does not hold a grudge against his former team-mate, and recently claimed he was the best English midfielder of his generation at ‘dictating a game’.
However, Rooney insisted Steven Gerrard was a better ‘all-round’ midfielder than Scholes and Frank Lampard during their peak years.
‘Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are all different. As an all-rounder, Stevie is the best; he can defend, pass the ball, run, tackle, score goals, set pieces,’ Rooney explained. ‘As an all-rounder he’s the best from that point of view.
‘From a goalscoring point of view, Lamps [Frank Lampard] was the best. The goals he scored were incredible from midfield and technically he wasn’t at Stevie or Scholesy’s level but there was no-one better at scoring goals from midfield.
‘Scholesy, the way he adapted [made him amazing]. He was a striker when he was younger so to go to a ten, then midfield then a deeper midfielder dictating the game, I don’t think either of the other two [Gerrard or Lampard] could dictate a game the way he could.
‘All were world-class players. Stevie could come to Manchester United and be a top player and do what Scholes could do. But I don’t think Scholes could do what Stevie did at Liverpool.’
Wayne Rooney was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet