If you were to ask Man United fans to create their Mount Rushmore of Man United, you’d hear Wayne Rooney’s name mentioned at least a few times. Despite being a Scouser, Rooney is a Manchester legend through and through.
The boyhood Everton star who first sent shockwaves through the prime-time Barclays Premier League audience after rifling a volley home against Arsenal. His career ended up being a fairytale from start to finish.
Wayne Rooney once handed in a Man United transfer request
However, despite hearing his household name quite commonly, younger Man United fans may be forgiven for not knowing about his transfer request. This is because it’s a bitter tale, that still stings Man United fans to speak about.
In 2010, Wayne Rooney submitted a transfer request, declaring that he wanted to leave Manchester United. At the time, Rooney was only under contract until 2012, but feared that Man United didn’t have enough pull factor to attract big names to join the club.
Oh, how wrong he was.
Eventually, Rooney changed his mind, and he’s probably thankful that he did. After 2010, Rooney went on to win two more Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson. He was also inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame for his contribution to Man United.
So, by every stretch of the imagination, Wayne Rooney is a club legend. He has firmly etched his name into club history, and nothing or no one will take his name away from the folklore.
Man United fans forgave Wayne Rooney, but it still stings
It might not have been that way. It might pain Man United fans to talk about or even hear, but there was a period of time that Wayne Rooney wanted to leave the club.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. What matters the most is that Rooney ultimately changed his mind and he went on to play with some more world-class players, making history against all odds.
Look, the Premier League has gone through many eras of different clubs dominating. However, no club is quite as impressive as the team that Sir Alex Ferguson put together. On paper, some of those names had no right to be repeat champions, but it was the impact of the gaffer and players like Rooney that made it happen.
Man United fans can count their lucky stars that he had a change of heart. The whole situation served as a bitter reminder that Man United should never assume their players are content.