Unsettled Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is purportedly the target of a £25million player plus cash bid from Catalan giants Barcelona.
The future of the 27-year-old England striker is in doubt after it was alleged Rooney asked to leave the club for the second time at the end of last season.
Barcelona are said to have offered £25million plus David Villa, 31, for the former Everton player, according to Spanish website Sport.es.
Any deal would suit manager Moyes as United are unlikely to want to sell Rooney to another premier league side – although it is thought that Rooney would prefer to stay in England.
The move could be possible as the relationship between Moyes and Rooney, who are currently in talks, is not good.
The new Manchester United boss successfully sued Rooney for libel following comments made in his autobiography, entitled My Story So Far, for comments made during their time together at Everton.
However the inclusion of David Villa, a target for Tottenham and Liverpool over the past couple of seasons, could be met by mixed emotions if a deal was met.
The 31-year-old has struggled to hold down a place in the Barcelona team since he broke his leg at the Club World Championship in 2011 and many think his best years are now behind him.
On the other hand, Rooney, at 27, should be in his prime and it would seem a strange time for United to sell the striker.
The forward, who is United’s fourth highest all-time goal scorer, has 141 goals in 278 appearances for the club he joined in 2004.
Rooney has also been linked to possible moves to Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain since the end of the season.
If Moyes does decide to sell the troubled striker, then Barcelona, and the chance to line up alongside Messi and Neymar, could prove too tempting to turn down for Rooney.
Picture courtesy of Gordon Flood, via WikiCommons, with thanks.
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