David Gill 'confident' Wayne Rooney will stay at Manchester United

Outgoing chief executive says the club want the England striker to stay at the club

Simon Rice
Friday 24 May 2013 12:22 EDT
Comments
Wayne Rooney celebrates with the Premier League trophy
Wayne Rooney celebrates with the Premier League trophy (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

David Gill, the outgoing Manchester United chief executive, says he is “confident” that Wayne Rooney will remain at the club.

The England international asked for a transfer earlier this month, however, that request was rejected. Despite a change of manager since then, United's position has not altered, with Gill saying that Manchester United want to keep the 27-year-old at the club.

"I think as Alex said at his last press conference, that's an issue for David Moyes and the new team to do, but look - I'm confident he'll be there next season," he told Sky Sports.

"I think he's a great great player, it's a great great club and the club doesn't want to lose its star players."

Rooney's request came amid frustration at being played out of position and being substituted by Sir Alex Ferguson. It was understood that Rooney would speak to new manager David Moyes before taking any further action. Gill today confirmed that was the case.

"I'm sure every bit of work is being taken with Wayne, his advisors and David and Ed [Woodward, Gill's replacement] etc to ensure that happens.

"I'm not a betting man, but I'm confident when I sit in Old Trafford next season I'll be seeing Wayne Rooney running out."

Rooney's request was the second time the former Everton player had asked to leave Old Trafford. His request in 2010 led to him signing a five-year £250,000-a-week contract.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in