Manchester United veteran to quit for World Cup dream

Wayne Rooney was left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad and offered no assurances of his place in the future and now the Manchester United captain is ready to quit Old Trafford in the summer in order to salvage his dream of featuring at the 2018 World Cup, claims The Sun.

The 31-year-old has previously put on record that he will hang up his boots at international level after the World Cup in Russia next summer but Rooney will not even make the squad for the tournament at this rate having dropped out of favour at United under Jose Mourinho.

Rooney has struggled with a minor knee injury sustained in training in recent weeks but was an unused substitute in United’s EFL Cup final win over Southampton at the end of last month and is now way down the pecking order for a place in United’s offensive line.

The England captain has been heavily linked with a return to Everton this season, while a lucrative move to China was mooted at the start of the year, but Rooney’s ambition to represent England at one final major tournament would suggest he only has eyes on playing in Europe for now.

Rooney, who overtook Sir Bobby Charlton as United’s all-time record goalscorer this season, has only made 18 appearances in the Premier League this season and only half of those have come as a starter.

For more stats on Wayne Rooney, click here to visit his WhoScored player page