Ferguson confirms that Rooney wants to quit United

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed press speculation that Wayne Rooney wants to quit Manchester United. Fergie has revealed that he is both "shocked" and "disappointed" by Rooney's decision, which was apparently made in August after the England frontman confirmed that he did not wish to sign a new contract with the club.

Rooney’s long-term future has been the subject of intense media speculation as rumours surfaced that he would not sign a new contract.

After a poor World Cup and following a series of unsavoury media reports about his private life, Rooney has produced a string of poor performances for United and has looked extremely out-of-sorts.

Sir Alex has revealed that he was informed on August 14th that Rooney did not want to sign a new contract.

The United boss told a press conference: "We can't ... understand why he would want to leave.

"We have done everything we possibly can to help ... Rooney ever since he came to the club".

The striker's contract does not expire until May 2012, but given the huge transfer value he surely commands, the club would not wish to allow that contract to come to an end.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan have already been linked with the player’s services – but, fierce rivals Manchester City have been earmarked as favourites to splash the cash and sign the unsettled forward.

Such a move would almost certainly be one of the remarkable and shocking transfers in the sport’s history.

ManUtdWeb View: This looks set to be a jaw-dropping transfer saga, dwarfing the intense speculation that met the exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Only months ago, Rooney said he was at the “greatest club in the world” and wanted to emulate Ryan Giggs’ appearance record. Now, he seems to have changed his mind. His head seems to be in the wrong place at the moment and, though Ferguson has denied reports of a fall-out, clearly all is not well at United. At ManUtdWeb Towers, we’re sure Rooney will eventually do a U-turn – but, at the moment, we are not too happy with the 24-year-old to say the least. Any move to City would be another huge blow for modern football.