Ferguson confirms Rooney’s desire to leave Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney is keen to leave Manchester United.

Speculation has been rife that Rooney is unhappy at Old Trafford, but all parties have remained silent on the issue.

However, the Manchester United manager has now spoken on the subject and indicated that the England striker wants to move onto pastures new.

Ferguson said: “His agent has intimated he won’t sign a contract and he wants away. It’s a shock. The player is adamant he wants to leave.

“We’re bemused because we can’t understand why he would want to leave a club this successful.”

Rooney has looked out of sorts for Manchester United all season and has supposedly felt unsupported by the club after it was revealed that he cheated on wife Coleen with a vice girl.

He has scored just one goal in the Premier League and was left out of the starting line-up for the draw with West Brom because of a speculative ankle injury.

Without Rooney in top form, United have slipped five points behind Chelsea and are now 4/1 to win the Premier League this season.

The same problem will also keep him out of the Champions League showdown with Bursaspor at Old Trafford, but the big question now is where Rooney will ply his trade next.

Manchester City appear favourites to secure his signature as they remain close to his Liverpool roots and will have no trouble meeting any wage demands he may have.

A move of this nature will be a further kick in the teeth to United fans following the success that Carlos Tevez has had since moving to the other side of Manchester.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea are likely to be the other options open to Rooney should he decide to move further from home.

Rooney is now 1/2 to leave Manchester United in the January transfer window and 6/4 to start next season as a Manchester City player. See the full Wayne Rooney transfer specials market.