Rooney continues to show embarrassment over events of October 2010

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on August 25, 2012 in Manchester, England.

Wayne Rooney appears to have retained his stance of showing his true embarrassment over the events of October 2010, with quotes from an interview with the Manchester Evening News saying he realised “very quickly” what a big mistake he had made, and that it’s “not an episode I’m proud of.”

Sir Alex Ferguson had revealed in a press conference Rooney’s desire to leave the club and it was later revealed that Rooney had been flirting with rivals Manchester City. The Liverpudlian originally cited “a lack of ambition” from the club as his main reason for wanting to leave, but his lucrative new contract seemed to be the turning point in making his stay at the club.

He also said his decision to go was based on winning trophies; an easily lamentable excuse when, at the time, United were far superior in terms of trophies than Manchester City. Of course, since the dull and dark days of October 2010, Rooney has revealed his guilt over bringing the club into disrepute – and the fact we went on to win the 19th Premier League title in the very same year is significant, not to mention the fact that we were one game away from being the Champions of Europe. While fans forgive Rooney every time Rooney apologises, there remains a large section of United supporters who will never look upon Rooney in the same way, no matter what he does.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – AUGUST 20: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United shoots at goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park on August 20, 2012 in Liverpool, England.

Although I think I fall under the bracket of those who will never be able to support Rooney like I used to, it’s still nice to see Rooney continue to emphasise the immaturity behind his out-of-touch remarks. I’m well aware that Rooney is far from trustworthy but it seems as though he really means it when he says he’s embarrassed. Of course there remain rumours and speculation over how long he’ll be at United, but you can’t imagine that, especially after his attempts to right his wrongs of 2010 that it’ll be either him or his agent that would push the deal through. All the talk was done back at the time, but it’s interesting to take stock again a few years on. Rooney’s latest quotes, taken from an interview with the MEN, are below.

“You learn from things. When I look back I realised very quickly I made a mistake. It wasn’t my position to say what I said. I went to see the manager and David Gill and told them I thought I had made a big mistake and can we sort it out. It took just 12 hours to sign a new contract. It is an episode that I am not proud of but it has helped me because it has given me great desire and hunger to be more successful at this club. They could have turned round and made it very difficult for me but to be fair to the two of them, the manager and David Gill, they have been fantastic. They brought me back into the team and the club and, from then on, I knew I had to repay the faith they had shown me.”

“I think since then I have scored a lot of goals for the club and the fans. I know they must have been disappointed with what happened but they have been fantastic with me since. I told them I was wrong and I am grateful they accepted it and we were all able to move on from it.” Elsewhere, Rooney has shown his desire to finish his career at United. “I look at the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes at United and they are a massive example to us all. It is what we all want to do. Hopefully, in the next 10 years, I will be having this conversation with you again about 20 years. That is the plan. I have said many times that as long as I am wanted here, then I will be a United player. As long as people want me to be a Man United player, then that is what I will be.”