Former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich believes that the Wayne Rooney saga was all a sham stage managed by Sir Alex Ferguson to put pressure on the Glazers into freeing up more money for him to bolster the squad. The now retired Australian who spent five years under Ferguson in two spells at Old Trafford told the Fox Sports channel that in his opinion “Sir Alex basically played a very, very smart move”
Bosnich has forged a highly successful career as a football commentator on Australian television since his playing days came to a premature end in a self induced drug lifestyle while he was at Chelsea. Just as he had always been throughout his Premier League years with United and Aston Villa, Bosnich is never backward in expressing an opinion.
Rooney signed a five year deal with United on Friday just days after informing chief executive David Gill he wanted to leave amid rumours of a falling out between the England forward and his manager. Roo had claimed that he was seeking a move away from Old Trafford citing a lack of ambition from the club and an inability to attract the best possible talent
But Bozza refuses to buy it. “As soon as Rooney came out and said ‘I’m not so sure that the ambition is what it once was’ that wasn’t Wayne Rooney speaking – in my opinion that was Sir Alex speaking” Bosnich insisted.
“I don’t think it was so much of a battle” he said “he’s got his best player and someone who he is very close to, more money than he thought he was going to get. That’s raised the salary ceiling that the club would have had internally so now that opens up the market for him to buy other players.”
The relationship between Bosnich and Ferguson has not been exactly comfortable since the early nineties when as a 20 year old second string keeper at United, Bosnich felt that Sir Alex had tried to shaft him on a loan deal to Denmark in order to obtain Peter Schmeichel’s transfer locked up.
There has also been credible reports for many years that when Bozza came back to United on a Bosman free transfer from Villa at the start of the 1999-200 season, it was on the insistence of former chairman Martin Edwards against Ferguson’s wishes so the comments made by Bosnich have to be taken in that context.
Nevertheless if, and the word IF must be emphasised, Bosnich is correct in what he says, it can only make Ferguson an even bigger genius than what people have ever given him credit for.
Was the Wayne Rooney sage some sort of a game between Ferguson and the Glazers?
