The Wayne Rooney saga will always leave a bitter taste in the mouth of those involved with the club.
It came as quite a shock and what transpired after undid all the work Rooney had done the previous 6 years in building a relationship with fans.
Although it was resolved it took time to heal what was quite a deep wound and although he may have been forgiven it is an episode that will not be forgotten as it was a key moment in our season.
To commemorate our 19th title, official club writer Steve Bartram compiled Champ19ns, a book about United’s turbulent season and as expected amongst other things the Rooney situation is touched upon.
John O’Shea offers up his opinion in the book and the snippet proves very intriguing reading,
“It transpired it was just an interesting technique of getting a new deal. (said in jest)
“I think Wayne, if he could turn back the clock, might do things a bit differently, but both parties were happy in the end.
“He came [into the Carrington dressing room after signing his new deal] and apologised to everyone. He said he’d done what he had to do, basically, and he was sorry if he had offended anybody. Obviously there were a few comments that will stay in the dressing room. They were quite smart and funny, but all friendly.”
This is what we always see at Manchester United: whatever said in the dressing room will always stay there. That’s why Fergie got so much respect: he laid down the rule: you can’t criticize your team mates in front of the press. Fergie himself never criticized his players publicly.
That’s the true meaning of united