As I said in a previous post, I couldn't give a monkeys about him or his vile team, but I fear that a precedent has been set that could rock football almost as much as the Bosman ruling did. Back in the day, NONE of the great managers - I'm talking Shankly, Paisley, Clough, Busby, Revie et al - would have taken this. Their mantra always was "no-one is bigger than the club". Players tried to work their ticket and were quickly put back in their box and sold on. As much as I hate Ferguson, I did begrudgingly believe that he was also of this same ilk - see Beckham, Ronaldo among others. Rooney has truly bent him over and 5hagged him up the bottom and has proven that he is indeed bigger than his club.
A precedent surely has been set now. Other top players are bound to start trying it on with their clubs and show that they are indeed the biggest, NOT their clubs or their managers. This will start pushing wages stupidly high, which will in turn push transfer fees stupidly high, the price of which will in turn be passed to the fans in higher ticket prices. It could also see the demise of several clubs, not all of them small either. Portsmouth should be seen as a warning to everyone
Rooney has changed football as we know it into this unrecognisable beast - it is not a change for the better.