As if agents and clubs weren’t enough to unsettle footballers, now we also have players keen to act as career advisors for their colleagues, and when said player has changed six clubs in the last decade, fellow footballers should take note. Or maybe not.
Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged Wayne Rooney to resurrect his plans to leave Manchester United and cross the channel to play for PSG, a club with which the England international had been linked during the summer, as his future seemed to lie away from Old Trafford.
Rooney, however, had seemed more inclined to remain in England, with United turning down two offers from Chelsea, while the 27-year-old went on to rediscover his form of old, netting five times in all competitions and looking hungrier and sharper than he did at any stage last season – an improvement that was rewarded with the captain’s armband for a couple of games and new-found adulation from the fans.
Despite Rooney’s return to form, Ibrahimovic has indicated that United’s current form could bring the England striker to reconsider his future.
“When there was talk of Rooney joining us in Paris it was a prospect that excited me.
“I think he made it clear in the summer that he wanted a fresh challenge – and things have not been going so well for Manchester United this season,” the 32-year-old told The Sun.
“If he still wants to move next summer or in January I would urge him to come and play with me in Paris.
“The only direction this club is going is up.”
PSG are undoubtedly on the way up, as would any other club that has billions poured into its coffers on a monthly basis, rather than syphoned out with surgical precision, while success is also helped by competing in a two-team league, where PSG’s net spending this summer dwarfed that of last season’s top nine clubs put together.
While it’s obvious that the Sun are trying to fabricate a story from the Ibrahimovic’s quotes, it’s also worth remembering that United’s current form could become a real stumbling block in terms of retaining and signing players and should United decide to sell him – an highly unlikely option as things stands – PSG would be a much better option than Chelsea or Arsenal.
Meanwhile, David Moyes is expected to let Wilfried Zaha go on loan in January, given that the £15m signing from Crystal Palace has been nothing more than a spectator so far this season with Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, Everton and Crystal Palace all keen to secure the youngster.
