. Misfiring Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is a wanted man. The Chinese Super League is looking for a player to be the face of football in the country, and have reportedly approached Wayne Rooney to play that role.
Wayne Rooney has just recently hit the big 30 and there’s already talk of the player being past his prime. It hasn’t helped that he’s had a woeful run of form this season, scoring only two goals in the Premier League and looking like a shadow of the player that would run at defences and score for fun.
Though he still has more than 3 years to run on his very lucrative, 300,000-pound-a-week Manchester United contract, the Chinese Super League are desperate to sign him to add some sheen to their football league and a big money contract is being discussed with the English forward, according to The Sun.
The league recently signed a TV deal in the region of 830 million pounds and the Chinese government has been making a huge effort to uplift the status of the beautiful game in the country. They are of the opinion that getting a big name player to sign with a Chinese club could get other footballers to follow suit — a theory that has been proven right in the past with David Beckham’s move to Major League Soccer in the USA.
China aims to be one of the top footballing nations
A number of players who formerly graced the English Premier League are now playing in the Chinese Super League including Robinho, Paulinho, Demba Ba, Tim Cahill and Momo Sissoko. Sven-Goran Eriksson, who coached Rooney as the manager of the England national team, is also in China, now managing Shanghai SIPG FC.
With his recent performances not showing him in good light, it could be a move that his agents might consider. The United captain, however, is highly valued at his club, and might just want to add a bit more to his legacy as a Manchester United and England striker before wandering off into semi-retirement.