For all the heat that Wayne Rooney takes from football fans, Manchester United supporters and haters alike, he is still among the game’s all time greats. While he is aging very rapidly and quite poorly, he certainly still deserves a very dignified exit from the Red Devils.
Rooney, the all-time leading scorer for both England and Man United, deserves a respectful exit from Old Trafford, a club that no longer really has a legitimate use for him.
Earlier this week, we saw news that United and Everton are in talks to send the England and United Captain back to the club from which he came in 2004.
“Roo,” “Wazza,” “The Wonder Boy” or “The White Pele” became football’s most expensive teenager way back in 2004 when he signed a £27 million deal to leave Goodison Park for the Theatre of Dreams.
According to ESPN FC today, Rooney is actually staying behind in England next week, while the rest of the team flies out on Sunday for their preseason exhibition tour in the United States, in order to finalize his transfer. Obviously, the news of United and Everton reaching an agreement on Romelu Lukaku is dominating the global football discussion today.
ESPN writes that Rooney will not be a part of that transaction. The website says that: “United’s initial efforts to sign Lukaku involved Rooney in order to tempt Everton into a deal…the two clubs are attempting to strike a separate deal.”
When Wayne Rooney lost a step or two, United shifted him to another position and then later a diminished role in the team. Now he’s kind of like a footy version of the Queen of England- no real significance or relevance on what really matters, other than the tremendous symbolic value they maintain as a figurehead.
Both harken back to a time long passed when their presence was much more influential. Just like Her Majesty, Wayne Rooney deserves our respect and deference. No doubt when this deal is done, Rooney will receive a form of the “retirement bounce,” an added level of acclaim given to those on their way out, in which we fondly focus on what they they accomplished over the course of their career.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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