Football
ESPN staff 7y

Paul Scholes, Roy Keane urge Wayne Rooney to turn down China deal

Wayne Rooney's former Manchester United teammates Paul Scholes and Roy Keane weighed in on the England captain's impending future, with a move to the Chinese Super League (CSL) on the cards.

Rooney was once again absent from Jose Mourinho's matchday squad in the 1-0 second leg win over Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, as rumours surrounding a move to an unnamed CSL club continue.

United progressed with a 4-0 aggregate victory to the round of 16 in the Europa League but with Mourinho opting to leave Rooney back in Manchester, Scholes reckons United's record goalscorer will be eager for a move to get playing time.

"I don't know if he should go, but he'll want to go," Scholes said on BT Sport.

"Wayne is a player that wants to play football every week, whether it's a big game, a small game he wants to play.

"This will be hurting him at the minute.

"Not being selected for the bigger games, okay, he might have played in this game if he was fit, but he'll get frustrated and I don't see him hanging about if he's not going to be playing in the big games."

Former United captain Keane, was equally supportive of his ex-teammate, but feels that the 31-year-old still has plenty to offer in a top league, rather than a move to China.

"No way Wayne Rooney should be going to China," Keane told ITV.

"He can still play football at the top level in England, Germany, Spain, Italy.

"Going to China? Madness.

"He's 31 years of age, there's plenty left yet for Wayne Rooney to do in Europe."

It remains to be seen if Rooney will get a chance to play in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday against Southampton, a game in which United can claim their first piece of silverware under Mourinho.

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