Wayne Rooney admits that he has almost left Manchester United to come to Barcelona in 2010 to next to Lionel Messi and Co. to play.
The former Manchester United Forward, who won the Premier League five times under Sir Alex Ferguson, also revealed that both Real Madrid and Chelsea compete for his signature of his powers.
However, it was the idea to play under the dominant Barcelona side of Pep Guardiola who intrigued him most.
“When I told Manchester United in 2010 that I did not want to sign a new deal and did a transfer search, three clubs came in for me,” Rooney said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“Manchester City is often spoken as one of them, but I don’t think that was once an option for me – the teams who made an approach were Chelsea, Real and Barcelona.”
Rooney further explained that moving to Spain was a serious consideration for him and his family. Initially, the former red devil discussed a move to Real Madrid, but his attention was drawn more to Barcelona and how he could possibly fit in their line-up alongside talents of world class such as Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
Wayne Rooney almost came to Barcelona 🤯 in 2010
Imagine a front three of peak Messi-David Villa-Rooney 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tbnxqnnv40
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 1, 2025
“In my head I was ready to play in Spain and some conversations took place,” he added.
“A deal with Real seemed more likely a few days, but it was Barcelona that I thought the most, and how I would fit in their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
“Eventually I decided to stay in United, but Barca then had an incredible team and every player would have liked to play in it.”
Rooney also admitted that the reason he was considering an deviation from Old Trafford at the time was that he was not sure in the direction of club and the ability to win silverware.
“Winning trophies was the biggest reason that I was considering leaving United in 2010. I was about to turn 25 and I was worried about the direction of the club,” he explained.
In the end, Rooney finally chose to stay with Manchester United, where he would continue to cement his estate as one of the all times of the club and the division.
