Rooney has 48 hours to decide: Mourinho

Chelsea manager believes United striker may decide to stay

MANCHESTER:

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho suggested his club’s pursuit of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney may be at an end following the 0-0 draw between the teams.

Mourinho has had two bids for the 27-year-old rejected by United and after Rooney produced a committed display in the game at Old Trafford, the Chelsea coach admitted he may miss out on signing the England star.

“This is a special club with special fans and I think probably now he thinks he wants to stay,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“If that is his decision, we will respect that and say it is over. If now, he does not want to leave, we are out of the thing but we need to know what is happening.”

Speaking to reporters later, Mourinho said he would wait only 48 hours for Rooney to make up his mind about his future and called on the striker to made a clear declaration about his desires.

“The person that starts the story has to finish the story. A club like us, we are not silly to try to get a player from a big club, a club that doesn’t sell what they don’t want to sell.”

When asked how long he was prepared to wait, Mourinho said ‘24 hours, 48 hours’, and warned that Chelsea would move for another player, believed to be Anzhi Makhachkala’s Samuel Eto’o, if they cannot sign Rooney.

“We are going to close another [deal for a] player, if he’s not coming,” he stated.  

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2013.

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