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Wayne Rooney admits he nearly left Manchester United to join Barcelona in 2010 to play alongside Lionel Messi and Co.
The former Manchester United forward, who won the Premier League five times under Sir Alex Ferguson, also revealed that both Real Madrid and Chelsea were vying for his signature at the peak of his powers.
However, it was the idea of playing under Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona side that intrigued him the most.
“When I told Manchester United in 2010 that I did not want to sign a new deal and put in a transfer request, three clubs came in for me,” Rooney said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“Manchester City are often talked about as being one of them, but I don’t think that was ever an option for me — the teams who made an approach were Chelsea, Real and Barcelona.”
Rooney went on to explain that moving to Spain was a serious consideration for him and his family. Initially, the ex-Red Devil discussed a move to Real Madrid, but his attention was drawn more to Barcelona and how he could potentially fit into their line-up alongside world-class talents such as Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, and Sergio Busquets.
Wayne Rooney almost joined 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 go and play in Spain and some talks did take place,” he added.
“A deal with Real looked more likely for a couple of days but it was Barcelona whom I thought about the most, and how I might fit into their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
“In the end I decided to stay at United, but Barca had an incredible team then and any player would have loved to have played in it.”
Rooney also admitted that the reason he considered a departure from Old Trafford at the time was that he was unsure on club’s direction and its ability to win silverware.
“Winning trophies was the biggest reason I considered leaving United in 2010. I was about to turn 25 and I was concerned about the direction of the club,” he explained.
Ultimately, Rooney ended up choosing to remain with Manchester United, where he would go on to further cement his legacy as one of the club’s and division’s all-time greats.