Rooney dreamed of Barça, but was closer to Madrid

Ten years ago, four days after his 25th birthday, Wayne Rooney was shaking the foundations of Old Trafford and asking to be traded. From the club they had not managed to assure their then star a project solid enough to continue advancing hand in hand. But nevertheless, Sir Alex Ferguson's intervention made him change his mind two days later and on October 22 he would sign a contract for five more seasons. But what happened in those 48 hours? Was the forward really close to leaving Manchester? He dreamed of Guardiola's Barcelona, ​​but Madrid was closer. Of all this and much more he has spoken in United Podcast.

Possible landing in the Spanish league: “In my head, at that moment, in that two-day period, I was ready to go and play in Spain. Ideally, I would have liked to go to Barcelona, ​​but it seemed much more likely that it was Real Madrid than Barça. I remember One day be thinking: 'imagine playing in that Barcelona: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.' And, at that time, Messi did not play as he plays now, as number '9' for example. He played outside. He thought he could fit in perfectly. I could go down to catch the ball and have those players running around behind. I remember thinking that. “

Chelsea interest and Manchester City: “I think it is well documented that Chelsea and Mourinho wanted to sign me. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City were there, but there were never any options to go there (to City). Although there were rumors, the other three options (Barça , Madrid and Chelsea) were much more real “.

Champions League finals lost to Barça: “I remember Alex Ferguson saying 'we are Manchester United and we are going to attack, it is in the culture of this club' and me thinking: 'I'm not so sure about it.' I think all the players knew inside that it was the wrong tactic, that we were abandoning what made us triumph in the 2008 semi-finals, and I'm sure they outplayed us both times. “