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Ferguson thanks Newcastle for Rooney capture
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson admitted that had Newcastle United not made a bid for Wayne Rooney he would not have made an offer.
United shelled out 27 million pounds, with Ferguson claiming it to be a bargain and describing the 18-year-old England forward as the best player the country has produced in 30 years.
Ferguson finally got his man late on Tuesday when Rooney signed a six-year contract just hours before the closure of the transfer window.
But the price he has been forced to pay has raised eyebrows in many quarters, particularly the 1.5 million pounds paid to Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford.
The fee for Rooney, to be paid in installments, is a world record for a teenager and over twice what United paid for Portuguese teenager Cristiano Ronaldo or the initial payment Arsenal made to secure the services of Jose Antonio Reyes.
Ferguson defended the fee when Rooney was officially unveiled as a United player at a press conference on Wednesday.
Ferguson, though, revealed that he had been on his tracks since he saw him play as a 14-year-old.
"We showed interest in him back when he was 14.
"It is a strange twist of faith that if Newcastle hadn't gone in for him then we wouldn't have done so, as we didn't know he was available."
Rooney, who is to undergo another scan on Thursday on the injury that forced him off in the Euro 2004 quarter-final with Portugal, admitted it had been a difficult time.
"It has been a tough week for everybody connected to me.
"Once I knew United were in for me there was only one club for me. I very excited, the players that play here are unbelievable."
"It was difficult because I've supported Everton all my life and playing for them for two years made it more difficult but when United came in for me and there was the possibility of Champions League football I had to go for it," said Rooney.
Ferguson also said he had sympathy for Everton.
"I can understand the emotions from the Everton fans.
"They see themselves as a big club and so do I. They are a great club but Wayne wanted Champions League football and Everton don't have that.
"This club has big ambitions." Everton will also receive 25 percent of any profit should United sell the player. But Ferguson has no doubt about the worth of the bull-necked forward who took Euro 2004 by storm, scoring four goals in as many matches before injury ended his tournament, and, many believe, England's chances of winning it. Ferguson is not alone in rating Rooney as a unique talent. Arsene Wenger has described him in similar terms, although Arsenal never seriously contemplated entering the auction for his services given the scale of the opening bids. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has no doubt that Rooney has the ability and self-belief to take on a leading role at Old Trafford. "So far he has never showed that he is nervous or worried about anything," Eriksson said, recalling the day he had told Rooney that he was going to make his first England start in a Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey. "Telling an 18-year-old boy that he was going to start would scare anyone. He just said OK and that was it. "When you are as cold as that you are very confident in your own skill. I had Roberto Baggio when he was that age and he was very confident, but I think Rooney is even more confident. Not many clubs would say no if they were offered him." Rooney's departure from Everton has not been purely about footballing ambition with his decision to leave his home city partly precipitated by recent newspaper allegations that he had frequented brothels in Liverpool. Although Rooney's desire for a fresh start and a greater challenge will be understood, however reluctantly, by most Everton fans, there was a hostile reaction from elements of the club's support and police are investigating alleged death threats made against Stretford. Once he has recovered from his broken metatarsal, Rooney will join up with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Smith to complete a formidable quartet of international strikers at Old Trafford. But it is the teenager's ability to make, rather than take, goals that is generating the most excitement with hopes running high that he can have the same galvanising effect on the team as Eric Cantona did in the 1990's. Ferguson has already stated that, with Rooney available and Rio Ferdinand back from suspension (after September 20), he will have his strongest squad since 1999, when United won the treble of Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League. The fear is that by that time the Premiership title at least will already be beyond the club's grasp. Four games into the new season and United already trail their main rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, by seven points. If Rooney can help close that gap, he can look forward to the kind of adulation once enjoyed by the player who was probably in Ferguson's mind when he talked of his latest signing being the best young player to emerge in 30 years: George Best. |
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