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Manchester United send mixed messages over Wayne Rooney
MANCHESTER UNITED forward Wayne Rooney has been left confounded as to where he stands over his Old Trafford future.
Rooney's Old Trafford future has been the subject of unrelenting speculation since Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that he made a verbal request to leave.
The 27-year-old striker has been linked with moves abroad to PSG and Bayern Munich as well as to United's domestic rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
Rooney, who is valued at around £25m, has piqued the interest of Jose Mourinho who has revealed his admiration for the player.
"I cannot speak about players from other teams but you know me," said Mourinho.
"I have always said what I think and I like the player very much."
Rooney, who was sent home from United's Far East pre-season tour through a hamstring injury, has two years left to run on his current contract, but chief executive Ed Woodward says there are no plans to renew Rooney's contract.
"No contract renewals are being discussed," Woodward said.
"I am not sitting down with any player on an extension and there is no trigger date in the diary.
"Would we be afraid to run a contract down? Of course not."
However, United manager David Moyes believes Rooney can still be an influential figure at Old Trafford.
"I think he's got a major role to play, because we need to get as many goals as we possibly can," said Moyes.
"I think Wayne can play up-top, he can play dropped in. If for any reason we had an injury to Robin (van Persie) we're going to need him and I want to be able to play the two of them.
"It's a chance for me to get Wayne right back to where he was. That's a challenge I want to take on.
"But I've also got to make sure we don't just concentrate on him. Manchester United isn't about Wayne Rooney."
Rooney hit 17 goals in all competitions last season.