£150k per week keeps Rooney but club have been hurt says Ferguson

Published on Friday 22 October 2010 21:12

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Manchester United have been hurt by the Wayne Rooney affair, which ended yesterday with the striker signing a five-year contract extension that makes him the highest paid player in the club's history on a salary believed to be around £150,000 per week.

Rooney has apologised to his manager and team-mates for the negative headlines he brought to Old Trafford this week, when it appeared that he was leaving Old Trafford following a breakdown of signing talks.

But yesterday's shock development saw the matter reach resolution with official confirmation that the 24-year-old is now committed to United until 2015.

"It has been a turbulent few days," Ferguson told radio station Key103 with generous understatement. "We have been hurt by events but Wayne has apologised to me and the players. He will do so with the supporters too.

"I always feel it is a quality in a person when they say they are sorry and realise they have made a mistake. That happens with young people. The job is to put it behind us and get Wayne Rooney back on the pitch, playing the way we know he can."

Ferguson added: "All the impact of what has been happening over the last few days has made Wayne realise what a big club Manchester United is. Sometimes when you are enclosed in a club like ours, where no-one gets into the training ground, you forget how big the club is. It is only now, when Wayne has seen the global impact, he realises this is the biggest club in the world. It is important to remember that."

Rooney's trusted advisor Paul Stretford played a key role in yesterday's reconciliation, as did United chief executive David Gill, with the Glazer family adding their approval from Tampa.

"You see the record since he has been here," said Ferguson, challenging the previously aired Rooney claim that the club no longer shared his objectives. "He has won European Cups, the World Club Cup, three league titles, League Cup.

"In football it is very difficult to maintain success for four years or more. We hit the crossbar last year. We finished second by one point. Instead of suffering to a degree where we are going to collapse as a club, we have to kick on. We always have to do that.

"The older I get, the more the demands I place on myself to win things increases.

"The criticism bites deeper. There is always that timing of what the reaction will be when you are not doing well.

"You have to guard against that all the time. You can only do that by winning."

There have been suggestions some in the United squad have been left unimpressed by Rooney's conduct, and the implied comment they are substandard. Yet Ferguson insists there are no bridges to build.

"There is no problem with the players or myself," he said. "We are doing what is best for Manchester United.

"We have important issues ahead, starting with Stoke on Sunday. We are lagging behind Chelsea and we have to start making up ground quickly. We can only do that with everyone on board, with no-one jumping ship. Then we can push on and see the real Manchester United."