Manchester United manager David Moyes has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will remain at the club all but ensuring that he will head down under to take on the Foxtel A-League All Stars on 20 July.
Manchester United manager David Moyes has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will remain at the club all but ensuring that he will head down under to take on the Foxtel A-League All Stars on 20 July.
The England international had been rumoured to be heading for an Old Trafford exit during the current transfer window, with speculation having mounted over his future ever since reports surfaced that he had handed in a transfer request at the end of last season.
However, at his first press conference as United boss on Friday, Moyes made it clear that the striker will stay at Old Trafford and is not for sale.
"I have had the chance to speak to him (Rooney). He's a Manchester United player and will remain a Manchester United player," the Scot said.
"I have known Wayne since he was 16, when he was at Everton. It is a little bit of deja vu.
"He is training really well, he is coming back in good shape and I am looking forward to working with him."
Rooney's possible departure has been the subject of much debate during the close-season, with former United boss Alex Ferguson claiming that the 27-year-old had asked to leave towards the end of the 2012-13 Premier League title-winning campaign.
However, the player subsequently denied that any transfer request had been submitted, and Moyes is now looking to draw a line under the affair.
He is keen to move on as he begins working with Rooney and the rest of the United squad at the club's Carrington training ground.
"I do not know what those two gentlemen said – Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney," Moyes added.
"That conversation was private and as far as I am concerned I am looking forward to working with Wayne. I can categorically tell you that Wayne Rooney has trained fantastically well since I've been here.
"Wayne won't be sold by Manchester United."
His first media outing as United boss also gave the former Everton manager the chance to reflect on his own ascent to one of the biggest jobs in world football.
He admitted that he was initially shocked when offered the Old Trafford post, but he is now simply focusing on the task in hand.
And Moyes is confident that he can do justice to the legacy left behind by Ferguson, adding that the squad that he has inherited is good enough to retain the Premier League title in 2013-14.
"I know what I've got and I know the job in hand but I am sure when Sir Alex Ferguson took over he knew the job in hand too," Moyes continued.
"But he has left me a squad that is capable of winning the Premier League title.
"I'll be new to a lot of supporters. This a new era but Sir Alex Ferguson will never go away. He'll always be here – you can see his statue, you can see his stand, and he's certainly someone I'll go to.
"Hopefully, the supporters will realise it was his time to finish and time for someone else."
While Rooney's future dominated much of the press conference, United have also been linked with a move for former winger Cristiano Ronaldo – and while Moyes would not comment specifically on the Real Madrid winger, he refused to play down speculation over the Portuguese's possible return to Old Trafford once and for all, saying: "This club is always interested in the best players"
Moyes, Rooney and the rest of the star studded Manchester United squad head to Sydney to take on the Foxtel A-League All Stars on July 20 where they will play in front of a sold out ANZ Stadium.
