La Liga eyes Wayne Rooney flight to Spain

La Liga president Tebas says United forward is the sort of icon he would love to prise away from the English game

Spanish La Liga president Javier Tebas expressed his desire to see Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney play in Spain for any club.

Rooney joined United keeper David De Gea as a wanted man in Spain as Tebas said that the duo would be a dream addition to La Liga.



Spain, which has become the new home to the world’s best players, has two of the world’s best players Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi playing in the La Liga already. The two are backed but the likes of Luis Suarez , Neymar and Gareth Bale.

But Tebas wants more and lists striker Rooney - the Premier League’s joint second-highest all-time scorer - as the sort of “icon” he would love to prise away from the English game.

De Gea, as well as Bayern Munich's French playmaker Franck Ribery, also features on the list of players Tebas would love to see join the galaxy of stars already playing their trade in La Liga.



“I’d like to have seen Rooney play in Spain. I’d like to have seen a Premier League icon play in our league, but there’s also Ribery,” said Tebas.

“De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and I wish he played in our League, regardless of who for.”

Tebas nearly had half of his wish fulfilled regarding De Gea. The Red Devil’s keeper missed a chance to move to Real Madrid due to paperwork issues on Spain's deadline day in August.



Moreover, Tebas hailed Bale’s move to the Spanish club from Tottenham in 2013 for a world-record £86million saying his transfer raised the profile of the league.

But he believes the Welshman has also benefited from playing in La Liga for one of the world’s biggest clubs.

“Gareth Bale has been a big pull. He’s a star of the highest level and having a big impact on Wales. In addition, Madrid have helped Bale to have more of an international presence,” said Tebas.

The story originally appeared on Mirror.co.uk