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Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has named the club that Chelsea wanted him to join on loan if he chose to sign for them over Manchester United. Besides making the revelation, he former English forward also claimed that he 'had no intention' of making the move to Stamford Bridge.
At the tender age of 16, Rooney was making waves in the Premier League with his stellar performances for Everton. A host of top sides engaged in pursuit for the teenage sensation's signature, including the Red Devils, the Blues and Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Eventually, United beat out the rest to snap Rooney up for a reported £20 million fee plus £7 million in add-ons in August 2004. While he immediately became an integral part of Sir Alex Ferguson's side, things could have been vastly different if he had moved to the blue side of London.
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In a recent appearance on NBC Sports, Rooney revealed that the Blues were planning on loaning him out to Middlesbrough right after signing him. The 40-year-old said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):
"Everton wanted to sell me to Chelsea, and then they wanted to send me on loan to Middlesbrough, but I had no intention of signing for Chelsea."
Rooney would go on to become the top goalscorer in Manchester United history, racking up 253 goals and 142 assists in 559 appearances between 2004 and 2017. With the Red Devils, he won five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League title, one Europa League title, four EFL Cup titles, one FA Cup title and numerous individual accolades at Old Trafford.
Chelsea set to tussle with Manchester United to sign prolific Bundesliga forward - Reports
According to reports from Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg (via Football Transfers), Chelsea and Manchester United are in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Serhou Guirassy.
After an impressive 2023-24 season for fellow Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, Guirassy joined Die Schwarzgelben fromor a reported €18 million fee in July 2024. He had an instant impact at the Westfalenstadion, bagging 38 goals and nine assists in 50 games across all competitions.
The Guinean powered Dortmund into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, finishing as the joint top-scorer in the competition (13 goals in 14 games). According to reports, he has a release clause worth €50 million in his contract that is only valid for seven clubs - Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Although the Blues signed Joao Pedro and Liam Delap this summer, neither has been able to cement a spot in the starting XI. A move for Guirassy would add a bonafide scorer to complement their exciting young forwards like Estevao and Cole Palmer.
United have been long-term admirers of Guirassy; they were among the sides interested in signing him when he moved to Dortmund. Meanwhile, Barca are looking for a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski at a reasonable price, and are expected to push hard to sign the 29-year-old.
With the race for Guirassy's signature heating up, it remains to be seen as to which team makes the first move to secure his services.
