Who knows what to believe in the world of football’s public relations? A safe bet is to assume that every utterance is a highly spun, blatant untruth. When a Club say their player is “not for sale at any price” (as David Moyes did about Wayne Rooney last week when Chelsea made a £20m offer) they really mean – we will obviously sell him to any other team who makes the most exorbitant offer, preferably someone abroad – When a Club really doesn’t want to sell a player, they make no comment at all to the press.
The media is a way for organisations to communicate in code, since illegally speaking to players behind other Club’s backs will see them in trouble with the authorities. When Jose Mourinho spoke recently of how he admired Wayne Rooney as a great player but obviously he respected the fact he was a Manchester United player, what he was really saying was – Wayne! I love you! You will be loved here at Chelsea! Do anything you can to force a move out of there, and I do not respect the fact you have a contract with United.
It was reported this week that Rooney was “angry and confused”, but this could easily have been because he was trying to open a tin of beans that didn’t have a ring pull, as much his feelings on the current situation with Man United’s new manager, David Moyes.
Moyes is a manager who is acutely aware of the linguistic nuances of football’s media machine, and so his response’s to nearly every journalist for over 11 years have been deliberately measured and contained. His remarks about Wayne Rooney being the back-up striker to Robin Van Persie, however out of context they may have been taken, must be read as a significant indication that Rooney is surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.
Moyes is not so stupid. He did not make a naïve comment about Rooney playing second fiddle to the Dutchman and having to prove himself to the United fans again, and has then been unfortunately misquoted. He knew what he said would be blown up out of proportion by the media, and that’s precisely why he said it.
Rooney’s management team will now advise him to play the innocent and hurt figure, as both parties will be looking to maximise the financial aspect of the vastly increased impending transfer bid from Chelsea. Expect a very large offer from the West London Club in the near future and a very considerable wage packet for the plucky scouser.
