Chelsea bid £27m for Wayne Rooney - but deny David Luiz or Juan Mata were part of the deal

 
PA
19 July 2013

Chelsea today confirmed they have bid for Wayne Rooney but hit out at Manchester United for suggesting they offered David Luiz or Juan Mata as part of the deal.

Standard Sport understands their offer was actually a straight cash deal worth around £27million, which was rejected by United.

It is in stark contrast to suggestions emanating from United’s pre-season training base in Sydney this morning claiming that Chelsea had offered £10m plus either Mata or Luiz for Rooney’s signature.

While Chelsea admit they do want to sign the England striker, they are adamant that no player will move to Old Trafford as part of any transfer.

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Chelsea took the unusual step today of issuing a statement clarifying their bid as they did not want Mata and Luiz — who are both on holiday — to be upset by talk that the club were prepared to offload them.

A club statement said: “Chelsea can confirm that yesterday we made a written offer to Manchester United for the transfer of Wayne Rooney.

“Although the terms of the offer are confidential, for avoidance of doubt and contrary to what is apparently being briefed to the Press in Sydney, the proposed purchase does not include the transfer or loan of any players from Chelsea to Manchester United.”

The way Chelsea’s bid has been incorrectly leaked to the media looks set to increase the tension between the two clubs and will make any agreement harder to reach.

Standard Sport revealed in May that United are determined not to sell to a Premier League rival and they have told Chelsea that the 27-year-old is not for sale under any circumstances.

United have informed Chelsea not to bother making a second attempt but the Blues still want to sign a striker this summer.

Rooney remains determined to leave Old Trafford having grown “angry and confused” over comments made about his position at the club by new manager David Moyes and chief executive Ed Woodward.

Moyes suggested that Rooney will only be a back-up option to Robin van Persie for the centre-forward role, while Woodward insisted that there will be no talks over a new contract despite Rooney’s deal only having two years left to run.

The player reported for treatment on his hamstring injury, which caused him to leave the club’s pre-season tour prematurely last week, at United’s training ground this morning as expected.

It is thought Rooney is now considering whether to officially hand in a transfer request in order to force the move through.

Sources close to the player have been stating that he is “at the peak of his career” and has “no intention of letting that career go backwards” by staying at United to just have a minor role.

Manager Jose Mourinho, who took charge of his first Chelsea game against Singha All-Stars today after returning to the club, has made it clear that he is a huge fan of the former Everton striker. Last week he said: “I like him very much but he’s a United player. From an ethical point of view I can’t speak about players from other teams.”

And as Rooney’s problems escalated yesterday, he also added: “If Wayne is a second choice for Man United, then the national team will be affected.”

The news that Chelsea will not include Luiz or Mata as part of the negotiations will be met with great relief by the club’s supporters.

Mata was named by the fans as their Player of the Year for the second consecutive season last term, while Luiz has been earmarked as a future captain of the club.

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