Is Rooney going to leave Utd for good?

Is Rooney on his way out?

Is Wayne Rooney really on the verge of leaving Man Utd? What began as the typical round-off-the-mill tabloid gossip seems to have evolved into yet another high-profile bust-up in the Old Trafford dressing room. And as usual, the antagonist in this drama is none other than Sir Alex Ferguson himself.

It's no big secret that the English media and Sir Alex don't exactly see eye-to-eye. But the Scotsman's latest self-imposed embargo with the media isn't going to him any favours with countless number of stories being published each day about his deteriorating relationship with Rooney.  

Such is the extent of the rumours that now even the Press Association claims Rooney maybe the next high-profile star to leave United and has refused to sign a contract, leaving the door open for the possibility of a January transfer for the England star.

Can any of this be true? Could Ferguson's wonderboy actually be thinking about turning his back on the club that made him the star he is? If he is, he won't be the first. Many other gifted footballers have left United under similar circumstances. In fact, the list of players who have become casualties of Fergie's wrath could make it a dream team of sorts.

But is there really a rift between Ferguson and Rooney? The media seems to think Rooney's denial of carrying an ankle injury, just weeks after Ferguson had said the opposite, was a case of defiance by the English striker against the Utd manager.

It isn't altogether uncommon for players to claim they are fitter than they really are and for managers to be extra cautious over their star players, especially when they've been the subject of extra-marital accusations in the tabloids.

In fact, Ferguson has always been extremely protective over Rooney and it wouldn't be surprising if Fergie decided benching the England star would be the best thing for him. But Rooney, at 24, falls under the category of footballers who get extremely ticked off when left on the bench, especially when more minutes on the field would help lift him out of the slump he's been ever since the World Cup.

But where would Rooney go? Real Madrid? Barcelona? Almost all of the ex-Man Utd stars who leave the club for greener pastures in Europe have never been able to replicate the success they had with the devils so it would make more sense for Rooney to stay in England. But would he choose to incur the wrath of the Man Utd faithful and move to another English club? At the top of my head, the only club I could see affording Rooney would be Chelsea or, you guessed it, Man City.

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if there is any truth at all to the "supposed" rift between Ferguson and Rooney although it does have to be pointed out that most of the "rumours" on Rooney that has been published by the media have turned out to be true. And as they say, no star is bigger than Fergie at Man Utd.