Manchester United

Gary Neville expecting Wayne Rooney to leave Manchester United

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 March 2017

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville expects Wayne Rooney to leave the club in search of more regular first-team football this summer.

Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has admitted that he is "doubtful" that Wayne Rooney will still be at the club next season.

The skipper has started just nine Premier League games since Jose Mourinho's arrival last summer, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata having overtaken him in the pecking order.

Neville believes that the 30-year-old's desire for more regular first-team football will result in him bringing an end to his 13-year stay at Old Trafford, but insists that the England international still has more to offer.

"Him being there next season is doubtful just because of the noise. I hope he's there next season. I think Wayne still has a lot to offer, but he wants to play more often. He's not playing as much football as he'd like. Knowing him, he's the type of footballer that would like to play every minute of every day," he told Omnisport.

"There's definitely some doubt, but there's still two to three months left in the season. United have plenty to play for, including qualifying for the Champions League. My view would be, maybe his mind can be changed by what happens in those months. With Ibrahimovic missing it is an opportunity for Marcus Rashford, but also for Rooney potentially.

"He is going through a period of his career where obviously the performances and appearances aren't the same as they were. People tend to forget what happened previously. All he needs to do is retire and all of a sudden everybody would remember the greatness of him. We are seeing it with [Arsene] Wenger, Rooney, Steven Gerrard, you see this approach towards them and then they retire and people respect and enjoy what they've seen for the last 15 years.

"He will get the credit he deserves eventually because he's had a magnificent career. He deserves a tremendous amount of credit for what he's achieved in terms of club and country appearances, goals, commitment and leadership. He is just going through a natural period that most players do."

Rooney has scored just five goals across all competitions for United this season.