Maybe, but it's now being reported that he 'agreed' terms with Chelsea but it was Lukaku and Raiola who delayed actually sealing the deal in the hopes of getting a move to Utd. Conte is apparently pissed off with the player rather than his own club, which is a sharp reversal from the last couple of months. I guess details will become plain pretty soon - he was the main target for Conte, so if Chelsea have pissed the deal away by delaying the transfer then he will probably throw a wobbly and maybe leave. If Conte stays and is happy then it's safe to assume Chelsea were 100% in for the deal and the delay was at the player's end.
Conte's unhappiness may depend on Costa. Whether he stays or not. It seems that no one is prepared to take him on at Chelsea's asking price.
Despite his great achievements with the club, I for one could not forgive him his attempts to agitate for a move away. For me, the guy is a mercenary of the worst kind
Do Chelsea fans now regard Morata and Belotti as world class??They are likely to cost a lot more than Lukaku
I agree, I can't stand the fat scouse twat. I said at the time, but very few agreed, he should have been offloaded when SAF retired. SAF wanted him gone too.
When we've had players like Charlton Giggs, scholes, Cantona, schmeichel, Bruce, Irwin, Robson to name just a few, it has been difficult to idolise someone like Rooney. He exploited the club at its weakest point. He knew that going to City would have been an event of huge symbolic significance. Suggesting that City have become bigger than United. I said at the time that the club owners will have to bite the bullet and they did. He went down in my estimation on that day. Those who say anyone in his position would have done the same have only to look at one player: Griezman. He could have got a bigger contract for staying when AM were in the mire but he stood loyally by them.
Completely agree. I respect Rooneys ability as a player, as up to about 25-26 he was a great player. But trying to squeeze every penny out of us when we where most vulnerable can never be fully forgiven in my eyes. Griezmans loyalty is commendable. I think the biggest show of loyalty I've seen in football happened when Juventus where relegated to Serie B during the whole match fixing scandal. Plenty of big stars left like Ibrahimovich, Cannavaro, and Thuram. But a few stayed. Loyal stalwarts of the club, like Buffon, Del Piero and Nedved all took pay cuts and stayed put and helped the team win Serie B at the first attempt despite having a 9 point deduction. That's what you call true loyalty if you ask me. This is why il never have any time for mercenrys like Rooney.
There is only one name for it: greed. Not that Rooney is the only high profile sportsman that could be accused of it. Many such sportsmen have displayed this. There is no doubt that players and agents will try to squeeze the most out of clubs but for them to recognise a particularly vulnerable period to do that was a bit low. At that point I said United would need to keep him at any cost even at £300/400k/week. He asked and was given £250k/week. Which was a totally obscene amount at the time. And even now with the era of the superstars it still sticks out as a sore thumb. His real worth at the time would have been £150/week at most. He got £100k/week extra from United's vulnerability. You know what the sad thing is? He was worth about > £80m already. In the big scheme of things, how does earning an extra few millions in addition to £10m+ a year enrich your life? And worth sacrificing the adulation and affection of the fans?
If you look at Ronaldo you can see that he keeps himself in peak condition and that has allowed him to perform well at the top for RM. Contrast that with Rooney - poor lifestyle choices, smoking and drinking plus a diet that is clearly bulking him up and making it harder and harder for him to find match fitness. For me, that is the most galling thing - he gets paid a shed-load of money and you would expect him to be making lifestyle sacrifices in order to retain his form to repay the faith shown in him by the club. He hasn't, it's as if he's taken the money and gone f**k you and bought a packet of ***s, a pint and a pie on the way home. Nobody would begrudge him a penny if he was busting his gut to keep himself at the top, instead many fans, while they recognise his contribution, resent him too.
