The difficulties with Rooney are often overplayed in the British press as a result of hisexpressed desire to leave the club in October 2010. Like Mel Gibson in Ransom, Sir Alex Ferguson turned the situation on its head and used the cameras to his advantage at the press conference soon after.
Rooney stayed, but there is a sense among some that it is a question of when rather than if he leaves.
Rooney is on course to break Sir Bobby Charlton's goal-scoring records for club and country, yet he will never be considered on a par with the man etched in bronze outside Old Trafford, regardless of his achievements. United fans are of the opinion that it is a unique honour to represent the club, and they don't take kindly to those that want away, U-turn or no.
This is not to say that Rooney is not a very fine player. When the mood takes him and he displays the hunger of his youth (rather than the hunger that leads to himreturning a few pounds overweight for preseason training), he is still capable of brilliance. In a sense, his versatility is also his undoing.
Ferguson has deployed Rooney in almost every midfield and attacking position during his time at the club. The general consensus is that Rooney could excel anywhere on the pitch, including in goal should the situation require it.
Rooney is the last of the street footballers, a lad with the ability to take on all comers in an overly crowded kick-about in the back alleys of Liverpool. What he wants, above all else, is the ball.
In recent years, Rooney has hugged the flanks one week then played the part of an all-out poacher the next. He's been allowed a roaming role in midfield or been tucked in just behind the striker.
He has the natural ability to influence the game from almost anywhere, and yet there's still a nagging suspicion that Ferguson has been auditioning him of late. On Sunday, away at Stoke, as United extended their lead at the top to 15 points, Rooney started alongside Michael Carrick in the centre of midfield.
As it transpired, Rooney produced what was arguably a man-of-the-match performance. This was not the first time he has played behind the forwards. After the win at Newcastle earlier in the season, he tweeted, "Really enjoying my new midfield role. Always involved."
This gives an indication of the personality of the man. For all his flaws, Rooney is not an egotist in the manner of many a modern footballer. He seems to genuinely enjoy assisting goals as much as scoring them, as evidenced by his 14 goals and 12 assists in club competitions this season.
With a wealth of attacking options further up the pitch, now might be the perfect time for Rooney to reinvent himself as a central midfielder. He can tackle, pass and shoot from distance. There is nothing to stop him making the position his own, and it is not as though the options in the centre of the pitch are so remarkable as to demand inclusion themselves.
Wayne Rooney still might be United's best player, so there's no doubt he was devastated after starting their biggest game of the season, at home against Real Madrid, on the bench. If he makes the vacant slot in the centre of midfield his own, then he can ensure that never happens again. And that should be motivation enough.
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