Wayne Rooney Signed Five And Half Years Deal With Man United

Wayne Rooney thanked David Moyes on Friday night for salvaging his Manchester United career after signing a new five-and-a-half year deal at Old Trafford worth £300,000-a-week.

Rooney told United he wanted to leave last summer following a spectacular fall-out with Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Barclays Premier League champions were forced to fight off bids of up to £30million from Chelsea.

I’ve been here since I was 18 and this contract will take me through to my thirties, which is almost my entire professional career. I’ve played most of my best football here and am looking forward to hopefully playing even better football in the next few years.’

Rooney insisted that the possibility of United missing out on Champions League football next season did not deter him from committing the rest of his top-flight career to the club, instead pointing to the £37million signing of Juan Mata as proof of better times ahead at Old Trafford.

‘It’s not a massive concern for me,’ he added. ‘This is because I know the direction that this club is going in, and if we don’t make it this season then we will come back stronger and claim a Champions League spot next season.

‘The future is bright for Manchester United. This is still one of the world's leading clubs, and we have seen this with the signing of Juan Mata.

‘People have been saying that we may have trouble attracting the world’s best players but I think the fact Mata came here shows this isn’t true.

‘We have some great players here and despite our recent form everyone has stuck together and the team spirit is still good. We will continue to work hard and get Manchester United to the top where it belongs.’

Persuading Rooney to stay represents Moyes’s greatest victory as United manager so far. On Wednesday night he insisted that the club were always in control of the situation despite the speculation surrounding Rooney’s future last summer.

‘As far as I was concerned it was never in doubt,’ said Moyes. ‘The way I looked at it, this football club was never selling Wayne Rooney. Never.

Rooney's wife Coleen pictured in Barbados on a holiday with sons Kai and Klay