Back in 2010, Manchester City were arguably the hungriest club in England.
After Sheikh Mansour took over the Citizens in 2008 – arriving with huge financial power – the likes of Kaka, Robinho and even Lionel Messi found themselves linked with moves to Manchester City.
Mansour had just funded a £25.5m move to pinch Carlos Tevez from rivals Manchester United, but despite that, the Citizens did not entirely look away from Old Trafford, as there was an alleged pursuit of Wayne Rooney in 2010 when the Englishman surprisingly handed Sir Alex Ferguson a transfer request.
Now – over a decade on – let’s take a look at what the man born in Liverpool said about these rumours involving Manchester City.
Wayne Rooney only ever had eyes for Barcelona if he left Manchester United
Speaking on the UTD Podcast about this saga in November 2020, Rooney – who admires Jack Grealish – said: “There was Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Man City thing keeps cropping up, but there was never the option for me to go there. Although there were rumours on that as well, but the other three, really, were more realistic options.
“In my head, at the time, in that two-day period, I was ready to go and play in Spain. Ideally, I would have liked to have gone to Barcelona, but it was looking more likely to be Real Madrid than Barcelona. Chelsea were always there as well.”
When Roberto Mancini was asked to comment, the Italian swatted the question away, saying: “He is an important player for United and I think he will stay. I have respect for him, for Ferguson, for United. I want to speak only about my players.”
Wayne Rooney’s record against Manchester City
If Manchester City really did want to sign Rooney – who recently criticised Erling Haaland – in 2010, it would have come as no surprise given his outstanding record against the Citizens.
In 31 appearances against Manchester City, the Liverpudlian scored 12 goals and also provided three assists – helping Manchester United to 13 wins and six draws.
Arguably the most famous of these 12 goals came in February 2011, shortly after the transfer saga, when Rooney leapt to dispatch a remarkable overhead kick beyond Joe Hart, securing a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
