It’s Rooney or nothing for us this summer, says Mourinho
CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho has declared forward Wayne Rooney is the only player he is interested in luring to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Blues lodged an official bid for the England star yesterday and insist none of their own first team players were offered in exchange, after it was suggested midfielder Juan Mata or defender David Luiz could make way as part of any potential deal.
And Mourinho, who oversaw Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Singha All-Stars in Bangkok yesterday, is determined to get his man, confirming no bids have been made for other players.
“No, and we won’t,” he said. “Chelsea is interested in the player, Chelsea made an official bid.
“The club [United] knows we want the player, the player has to know we made a bid for him. Now it’s up to Man United and we respect their decision.
“So from now I don’t say one more word about Wayne Rooney.”
Chelsea released a statement an hour before kick-off in Thailand, adamant that none of their players would be moving to Old Trafford, contrary to rumours they attributed to the Manchester United camp, currently in Australia on the latest leg of their pre-season tour.
Reds executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward yesterday abandoned the trip and flew home though not, United say, in order to thrash out any potential deal for Rooney.
And Mourinho is adamant his club is behaving “ethically” in their pursuit of the unsettled 27-year-old.
“What we did, we did officially between our club and Man United,” added the Portuguese boss.
“The official bid is a certain amount of money, it doesn’t involve any players. There are none involved in the deal. Not Juan Mata, not David Luiz.
“We did what we had to do in a proper way, in an ethical way, and we’re happy with our behaviour.”
RIVALS DO BUSINESS
Eric Cantona
■ Man Utd poached the French forward from Leeds for just £1.2m in 1992. He went on to help them win four league titles.
Ashley Cole
■ Swapped Arsenal for Chelsea in 2006, for £5m plus defender William Gallas. Has won six domestic and two European honours.
Carlos Tevez
■ Moved across Manchester from United to City in 2009. Won the league title in 2012.