Mourinho won’t stand in the way of China move

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that he will not stop Wayne Rooney from making a lucrative move to China, should he be tempted in the near future.

Mourinho was speaking after his side’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City, in which Rooney scored a late equaliser to break Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and become United’s all time top goalscorer, with 250 goals in all competitions since he arrived from Everton as a youngster.

The former Chelsea manager said of the links to China:

“I don’t know, it’s up to him,

“I don’t like to be critical of players who decide to go to China. It’s their life, it’s their organisation of their life, their organisation of their career.”

The 31-year-old has been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League with a staggering £700k-a-week reportedly on offer to the England captain.

Mourinho, however, insists he will not get involved in Rooney’s decision:

“The money is huge. The experience can also be interesting.

“I know some of my colleagues think they are more important than they are and think they can interfere in the lives of other people, but I’m not that sort of guy.

“Everybody is responsible for their own life. I’m not critical with anyone.

“To be honest, in Wayne’s case, I have no idea because he has never mentioned it to me.”

Despite breaking the long-standing record at the weekend, the Red Devils skipper has been in and out of the side this season, making just eight Premier League starts so far, and has been on the decline over the past couple of years.

With both Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan becoming more and more key to Mourinho’s plans in the creative midfield roles, it is hard to see the England international getting regular runs in the side.