When somebody has a career like Wayne Rooney, interesting stories are bound to happen. And among many of them, his transfer request written on the napkin and a near fight between sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane rank very high on his list. Talking on BBC Sounds’ ‘Tony Bellew Is Angry’ podcast, former Everton and Manchester United striker, now a Derby County manager, revealed details about these two stories, among others.Rooney predicts Cristiano will play on a top-level even when he’s 40Rooney made a name for himself at a very young age at Everton, and with only 18 years old, he was already an England international and the big transfer to a bigger club seemed inevitable. “Before Euro 2004, I knew that I was getting touted to other teams – because Everton needed the money. Certain individuals were going into other clubs saying ‘would you take Wayne Rooney for £30m?’ I was heartbroken, I loved the club and wanted to play for Everton. To find that out, I was devastated. I would have left at some point, of course I would’ve, to try and better myself and go and win trophies. But I was devastated” admitted Rooney. (8.00) Young Boys (4.70) Manchester United (1.45)So, the time came for young Wayne to leave the club, and off course, there were many suitors, but the then 18-year old striker wanted to choose for himself. Newcastle, a big club at the time, along with Chelsea, with a recent owner Roman Abramovich, were the most interested, and The Blues had the biggest offer. Manchester was also in the frame, but not so agressively. But, Wayne wanted to work with Alex Ferguson. And he did what he needed to do in order to get the transfer done. “I was getting pushed to go and play for Chelsea because they offered the most money, but I said ‘you’re not dictating where I go – I want to go to Manchester United’. It was lost money for Everton, but that’s where I wanted to play. I didn’t want to go to London, I didn’t want to go to Chelsea. But I got told the only way you’re going to Man Utd is if you put a transfer request in. This was in Moyesy’s office. So I went into the canteen and wrote ‘I Wayne Rooney request a transfer from Everton Football Club’ on a napkin, or something! Walked back into Moyesy’s office and said ‘there you go’. I felt I got backed into a corner to a certain extent, but that’s football” explained Rooney. Wayne Rooney causes on-and-off-pitch media commotion againIt turned to be a very good decision, as Wayne went on to win five Premier League titles, one Champions League and three FA Trophies with sir Alex, but also witnessed some crazy things with the Scotsman at the helm. Like when the manager almost got into the fight with his captain at the time, Roy Keane. The pair clashed following an interview Keane gave to club’s television after a 4-1 defeat at Middlesbrough, when he slashed his team mates. “Roy Keane has had a go at some of the players on the club’s TV channel and Fergie weren’t happy and called a meeting. So Roy Keane said ‘let’s all watch it together’ so we’ve all gone into Alex Ferguson’s office, the coaches, players and Sir Alex Ferguson. I’m only 18 or 19 at the time and Roy has asked if anyone has a problem and everyone said ‘No’. To be fair it wasn’t that bad. I think it was probably a hangover from something that had gone on between Roy and the manager in the past. Anyway, it had gotten into an argument between Roy and the manager and a few different things got said. I seen Alex Ferguson jump over his desk and I was thinking ‘Wow, this is crazy! He jumped over the desk and was getting held back. It got calmed down but the next day Roy Keane has come into training and then about 30 minutes later we seen him driving off. That’s the last we seen of him” witnessed Rooney.
