Wayne Rooney And The Illusion Of Loyalty

By Debarshee Mitra
11 years Ago

As Wayne Rooney and speculations about his future at Manchester United continues to make the headlines, we take a look at the ever-intriguing question of loyalty and ambition.

As Wayne Rooney flips through the morning newspapers, unsurprisingly he is the subject to yet more controversial headlines. It’s not easy being Wayne Rooney. The messiah of English football, Manchester United’s torchbearer in recent years and one of the most sellable stars in world football today, one would expect Wayne Rooney to be living a dream. But is he? “Angered and confused” according to recent reports, the England striker seems to have become a victim of his own ambition. Ambition, in the world of football happens to be a two-edged sword. Who better to know that than Rooney himself. The thin line between greed and ambition is often lost on the average football fan. So does that make Rooney a misunderstood figure, or is there more to it?

Football fans around the world understand only two terms when it comes to players of their clubs: loyalty and treason. Except it isn’t as black and white. The word loyalty is misleading to start with. Would Paolo Maldini have stayed on at a club if he were playing for a mid-table team like Genoa? Would Ryan Giggs be still at Manchester United if he was second choice and regularly benched in his prime? Would Casillas have stayed on as a backup keeper if Mourinho was still in charge? Questions we will probably never get an answer to, but they do bring forth the burning issue: that loyalty in its true form is a myth. Experts and fans alike rhapsodize about the yesteryear footballers who stayed at one club their entire lives, but as the game has evolved so have the opportunities and the outlook to the game. Modern footballers have 3 key priorities in general: trophies, regular playing time and money. Don’t guarantee either, and you have a mercenary. Wayne Rooney is winning titles, is one of the first names on the team sheet and is also one of the highest earning footballers in the world, so it doesn’t make much sense for him to be dissatisfied. Or confused and angered for that matter. That brings us to the most important yet untouched facet: the employer-employee relationship.

In any and every profession, a symbiotic relationship between employee and employer is the heart and soul of the successful functioning of an organization. Once the relationship reaches a breaking point, it’s in the best interest of all parties to end the relationship at the earliest. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United had a father who spoke to his children, gave them suggestions like a father would, to his child. Wayne Rooney is a different animal. The father-son working relationship doesn’t really go down well with him one can sense. He is a man of his own terms and the only people he maintains a close relationship with are his own clan. Thus it’s unfair to compare him to the others who seem to thrive in such an environment. The 2010 Rooney saga pops to mind when the player seemed disillusioned about his future until Ferguson more than twiced his wages to keep him at the club. Simon Kuper wrote in 2010, saying:

“Rooney knows that fans, managers, media and agents love him only because they need him. Their ai???loyaltyai??? quickly turns to anger, intrusion, exploitation or mockery. He has no intention of being ai???loyalai??? in return. That means that sooner or later, his spat with United may well be repeated.”Ai??

After the saga the employee-employer relationship recovered somehow but it had a permanent dent. A dent that would only worsen in the future as Kuper had predicted. Rooney’s next set of problems started the moment Robin van Persie was signed by Manchester United, and the same old snakes of misunderstanding reared their heads. To be fair to the Englishman, he has spent most of his Manchester United career playing second fiddle. His commitment on the pitch is unquestionable and even the most extremists of the anti-Rooney brigade would agree that he is still an asset to behold. Isn’t that what most fans should care about, being committed to the cause, irrespective of how many years a player stays at the club? Or is asking to be played in his preferred position now seen as an act of treason? Maybe Rooney has grown tired of filling up for others, maybe he wants a new challenge, maybe he isn’t sure of Moyes’s appointment, maybe he isn’t entirely sure of Manchester United’s ambition or maybe he is just wanting to earn a few extra thousand pounds with guaranteed instantaneous success. Nobody probably knows, except Wayne Rooney himself. He might still move for greener pastures and even go on to become more successful at his next club but that wouldn’t insulate him from being crucified by the fans. Much like his teammate Robin van Persie. But why should loyalty be a factor when it’s just a profession where the club pays your wages and in turn you win the club matches?

Because football isn’t any other profession where you have nobody to answer to, no audience to entertain. Fans are as important to the game as players themselves. Fans look at footballers as idols and having seen Rooney play alongside the likes of Scholes, Neville and Giggs, the contrast is way too stark. But is it just because most of their past idols were loyal, that fans expect the same from modern footballers? Yes and no. The one-club men have probably set the bar high, but that isn’t the primary reason. Fans expect players to be loyal because fans are loyal. The fact that modern footballers are insensitive and immune to the feeling of belonging towards the fans, gives a very hollow meaning to the way the sport is evolving. Yet fans forgive. Manchester United forgave Rooney when he signed a contract after putting in a transfer request. The Villa Park faithful will forgive Benteke, the Liverpool fans will eventually grow indifferent of Luis Suarez and so will Arsenal fans if Fabregas returns to North London. But then there are boundaries which once crossed, have no way back. Ashley Cole, despite being a part of the “Invincibles” will never be seen in the same light. Mario Goetze irrespective of what he does in his career from now on will never be let off the hook by Dortmund fans. Sol Campbell and Luis Figo will forever be hated by Spurs and Barcelona. Probably Wayne Rooney might join the elite sinned list if he were to join Chelsea begging the question why different transfers of almost the same magnitude welcome different treatment from the fans?

When footballers force their moves out of a club is when fans are irked. Handing in a transfer request, boycotting training, sulking on the pitch, underperforming, speaking against the manager are a few actions that naturally don’t go down well with fans. But what else would you do if you were in their place? If you’re looking for a new club and you aren’t being allowed to make the move because you have a contract to respect, would you rather stay put because of the fans or would you make a move that seems best for your career? These are the exact conundrums Wayne Rooney faces in his head everyday while the media discusses his clouded future. The fans might classify him stupid, manipulated by his agent, short sighted, etc. but it is palpable that a man of 28 knows what he wants.

Rooney is a careerist like most footballers today, a professional footballer whose every kiss of the crest is more to appease fans than to show his undying love for the club. And it’s not just Wayne Rooney. Every modern day footballer goes through these routines under the immense pressure and expectation from different fanbases. The struggle between satisfying fans’ expectations and personal ambition continues throughout a player’s career and since it’s personal ambition, every player is subject to his own set. Once personal ambition dwarfs the club and fans’ expectations we arrive at a situation like Rooney’s. Manchester United fans might argue that he is at one of the best clubs in the world winning titles, what more could a player want? Maybe Wayne Rooney wants a fatter paycheque? Or maybe he wants to win a Champions League? Maybe he doesn’t believe in David Moyes? Or maybe he just wants to play as a striker up front, be the talisman at Old Trafford for once?

Everyone might argue their versions of right and wrong. Of loyalty and treason. Yet fans will never be able to fathom the exact reason of his departure (if he leaves) and will entertain themselves with Twitter speculations until one day they hear the words from the horse’s mouth. But the last bridge would have burnt by then. The fans will have judged him, classified him a traitor and no matter how sugarcoated his words after moving out are, they will never be enough to pacify the fans’ emotions. Fans who supported him despite his transfer request. Fans who believed in him, cheered him despite him not being entirely respectful to the footballing institution that is Sir Alex Ferguson. Fans who believed in him. They have every right to feel disappointed, dejected and angered. But so does Wayne Rooney, having given his sweat and blood whenever on the pitch, when his manager chooses the wrong words, even he is entitled to feel angered.

Angered enough to move on? The newspaper he is holding says so. Wayne Rooney shakes his head in amusement smiling at how delusional the media are, linking him with a move to Chelsea while all he dreams of, is playing for Doncaster Rovers. It’s not easy being Wayne Rooney.

Categories: English Premier League, Features, Manchester United
Tags: Manchester United Wayne Rooney

As Wayne Rooney and speculations about his future at Manchester United continues to make the headlines, we take a look at the ever-intriguing question of loyalty and ambition.

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