Mourinho tells Rooney: If you want to play…leave Man Utd

IF WAYNE ROONEY wants regular first team football then he should pack up his kit and leave Manchester United. That was the damning suggestion from new manager Jose Mourinho who has told his captain and 12 year club veteran that he cannot guarantee him a starting place.

Although there have been a few niggling injuries, there has been little doubt that changing tides behind the scenes are the real reason that Rooney hasn’t started in the club’s last four games.

With Mourinho himself sustaining heavy fire following the club’s dire start to the new league campaign, the tempestuous Portuguese has been left with little choice other than to demand a radical overhaul of players.

Rooney is a prime target for change. A symbol of the old guard who, despite being the club’s second top goalscorer of all time, is perceived as failing to reach his full potential and, at 31, is in the twilight of his career.

Mourinho hasn’t said anything yet about actively trying to sell the England captain, which may prove a difficult task. Rooney earns upwards of £350,000-a-week when image rights and other perks are factored in and would need to be willing to travel to the US, Russia, or China to play sponsorship football for such a fee.