MANCHESTER UNITED DEFENDER Rio Ferdinand has warned Wayne Rooney that leaving the club would be a mistake.
Rooney, who has submitted two transfer requests in the last three years, appears keen to depart Old Trafford after falling below Robin van Persie in the pecking order last season.
The 27-year-old has subsequently been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. But Rooney remains a United player and the club’s new manager, David Moyes, has said he will not sell the want-away striker.
And Ferdinand – who has been at Old Trafford since 2002 – has advised Rooney to stay, citing Cristiano Ronaldo as a cautionary tale. Ronaldo left for Real Madrid in 2009 but has won just one La Liga title and a Copa del Rey medal in that time, while United have secured two league titles and one League Cup.
“I don’t see where you go better from here,” Ferdinand said. “For instance, Cristiano has been ridiculous as a football player individually, but has he won more trophies since leaving than what we’ve won?
“That’s the way I look at it. I wouldn’t say that he shouldn’t have gone there. It was his dream to go there, so you have to respect that. But I just look at things in a black and white way: I want to win trophies so why would I leave here?
“Who am I going to go to who is going to win more trophies than us? Obviously you could say that Barcelona have won more trophies but I’m in my country where I’m from, and you’re proud when you win the league in your country.”
Ferdinand insists Rooney is aware of United’s history of winning trophies, and that it should be enough to convince him to remain at the club.
He added: “I think when someone is at your club who has been there for the length of time he’s been there — I think this is his ninth season — so he’s more than clued up to understand the dynamics of the club and what goes on at the club.”
