In the past 7 days, Wayne Rooney has scored three crucial goals. A cracking free kick against Crystal Palace and two high class finishes against Bayer Leverkusen. Yet after a very successful week, both he & manager David Moyes have still refused to confirm he is content with life at Manchester United.

I’m a bit gutted for Wazza. It seems that he’s had a lot more negative press than usual over the last few years, all due to apparent gossip. He’s recognised as one of the best in the game, yet you’ll struggle to find any corporate Football medium that hasn’t tossed their fair share of shit at the guy. Many have heard the rumour that Rooney handed in a transfer request after last season’s Premier League triumph, and that he’s no longer happy at the club. Here’s a guy who earns 250k+ a week and is playing for one of the greatest football clubs in history - many would ask what’s not to be happy with. Well, even if handing in his notice was factual, he definitely wouldn’t be the first, nor the last. He’s since denied that he requested to leave the club, however despite his current form, he clearly looks affected by matters off the pitch.

This isn’t a new concern for fans, as Rooney’s time at United hasn’t always been smooth sailing. A transfer away from Old Trafford was requested in  October 2010, due to a public disagreement with Sir Alex Ferguson – which I can assume would have been as fun as placing his willy on a red hot oven element. A move to Manchester City was highly publicised, but turned out to be all fart and no shit, which surprisingly saw Rooney & Sir Alex U-turning and repairing the public image by Wazza sigining a new 5 year deal. Rooney repaid Fergusons good faith by notching 34 goals in the 2011/2012 season – an equal career best. However in 2012/13 (which would prove to be Sir Alex’s final season), Mr Van Persie made his way up from London. RVP, Danny Welbeck & Chicharito all worked so well together that Rooney was often frustratingly deployed out of his preferred position, to assist Michael Carrick in the centre of midfield. This meant sacrificing his goal-scoring targets to support a lack of quality in the middle, with no obvious suitor to replace Paul Scholes (all hail!). Add to that a few injuries, and it’s easy to see why he racked up an equal career low of 16 goals – a figure which 90% of players would be over the moon with. But not a Manchester United calendar striker. Many were certainly surprised when Rooney was only named on the bench in against Real Madrid (a Champions League semi-final decider), and to me that seemed like the day the fire in his eyes started to fade. It’s almost as though Ferguson had gotten over him, preferring to play with his shiny new dutch toy. Being replaced will upset any player, let alone a guy who had shown 8 years of loyalty and scored over 175 United goals.

Rooney’s transfer speculation has been a piranha-like feeding frenzy for sports journos. He was left out of the last two games of the 2012/13 campaign, as Ferguson announced a second transfer had been requested. But was Sir Alex just stirring the pot? New manager David Moyes repeatedly advised that his former Everton prodigy was not for sale under any circumstance, and wouldn’t have  bar of Chelsea’s 30k+ bids. Moyes also, interestingly, stating that he wasn’t aware of any transfer request. Rooney has stayed almost silent throughout this ordeal, only moving to reject claims surrounding Fergusons alleged transfer request – but never confirming or denying any speculation regarding where he stood with his club. Of course this has only fuelled the media firestorm. Numerous articles arose during the transfer window by journalists desperately trying to conjure a story – almost urging Rooney to move to another club. However, the transfer window has since closed, and Rooney is still playing his football at Manchester United.

After his 5 star performance against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, he grilled a post-match interviewer for digging for info, regarding his satisfaction of staying at United. David Moyes was asked the same question, which was also greeted with apparent ignorance. Could this be to bypass the fact that Rooney has made his spoken of his true feelings behind closed doors? I personally hope not, but from a fan’s perspective, he looks like a jaded man. Much less enthusiastic celebrations, characteristic fiery confrontation has been next to none, and hardly a smile to be seen on the pitch – there doesn’t seem to be that same proud arrogance on the field that drew hatred from every other football fan around the world. On the pitch, though, he’s delivering. Although his face suggests a frustrated man who may be getting strong-armed, he’s acting like a true professional; scoring goals and still proving he is one of the best in the game.  It’s understandable why Rooney may be after a fresh start, but the fans at Manchester United adore this guy. For all that he’s endured, the fact that he has remained true to his contract speaks volumes about his character.

Maybe he won’t leave. Maybe this is all just part of the reconciliation. Sir Alex is (mostly) out of the picture, so the battle of he-said-she-said should no longer be an issue – David Moyes will surely not bring that upon himself in his first season. Until the summer transfer window opens, Rooney will keep on slugging for United. But between now and then, If Rooney really feels that the differences can’t be ironed out, he will need to formally ask permission to leave. David Moyes doesn’t want that, the fans don’t want that, and if Rooney is able to maintain his form & keep clear of controversy, I’m sure he’ll have a tough time convincing himself as well.