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Wayne Rooney Lists The Three Clubs He Nearly Left Manchester United For In 2010

Wayne Rooney Lists The Three Clubs He Nearly Left Manchester United For In 2010

Rooney says he was "ready" to play in Spain.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Wayne Rooney says he was "ready" to leave Manchester United for Barcelona or Real Madrid when he handed in a transfer request at Old Trafford 10 years ago.

He also admits that he nearly left United for Chelsea, but claims a transfer to Manchester City was NEVER an option.

Rooney enjoyed 13 trophy-laden seasons at United, winning a host of silverware including five Premier League titles and the coveted Champions League in 2008.

Image: PA
Image: PA

But he could have moved on in 2010 when he briefly flirted with the idea of leaving the club.

Chelsea expressed an interest in signing the player, not to mention Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Image: PA
Image: PA

And the England legend reveals he considered swapping Manchester for London with Jose Mourinho also keen on acquiring his services at Real Madrid.

"I think it was well documented that Chelsea and Mourinho wanted to sign me," he told the UTD Podcast.

"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."

Image: PA
Image: PA

Rooney continued by recalling the scenes outside his house amid reports of a move away from United.

"After a couple of days, I spoke to David Gill again," he added.

"When there were those protests at my house, I'd actually already agreed to sign the new contract by that time.

"I was thinking 'Jesus', it's three o'clock in the morning and I didn't fancy going out to calm down 20 or 30 lads with their hoods up!"

Featured Image Credit: PA/PA

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Barcelona, Wayne Rooney, Real Madrid

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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