Wayne Rooney
Wayne RooneyReuters

Giving a clearer picture of whether England striker Wayne Rooney will stay at Old Trafford or look for other avenues, a report has emerged that the Manchester United star wants to leave the club.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had earlier claimed that Rooney had placed a transfer request. But neither the club nor the England star have confirmed it. Rumours run amok that the striker was not happy after being sidelined in Manchester United following Robin van Persie's signing last season.

Adding more fuel to the fire, Sir Alex Ferguson's trusted assistant Mike Phelan, who quit the job at United last month, said that Rooney wanted to leave Old Trafford.

"Wayne is at the greatest club you can be at. Why would you want to jeopardise that, unless you want a fresh challenge and you feel that challenge isn't being met at Manchester United," Phelan told The Sun.

"Somewhere down the line there will be words said, there will be meetings. They'll see if it's still alive and worth going for or they'll call time on it," he added.

The statement came just a few days after Manchester United's new coach David Moyes had a secret meeting with Rooney to discuss his future in the club after a nine-year stint. They are expected to meet again one of these days and take the final call.

The 27-year-old England striker, who still has two more years left with Old Trafford in his current deal, has been linked to a few big clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

He has been linked to Arsenal for a £25 million move despite Manchester United's reported policy not to sell their top players to Premier League rivals. The Telegraph has reported that Chelsea are prepared to offer £20 million for Rooney if David Moyes fails to convince him to stay at Old Trafford.