‘I haven’t told many people this’ – The Newcastle transfer bid that forced Manchester United’s hand

“Would you let me purchase Rooney?”

Sir Bobby Robson couldn’t imagine what he was listening to. Freddy Shepherd had phoned the Newcastle United supervisor to tell him that Actual Madrid had made a bid for Jonathan Woodgate. Now, the Magpies’ chairman was dropping one other bombshell.

As he gathered his ideas, Sir Bobby identified that it might price as much as £28m to prise Rooney away from Everton and Newcastle merely didn’t have that form of cash.

Shepherd, who had shut hyperlinks to Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, countered that the Magpies would possibly succeed with a £20m bid that might be partly-funded by the £13.4m sale of Woodgate.

This was not essentially a rush of blood to the top. Rooney, recent from a fearless displaying at Euros, had been on Newcastle’s radar for some time – even earlier than {the teenager} exploded onto the scene with a surprising winner for Everton towards Arsenal’s Invincibles in 2002.

Charlie Woods, the membership’s chief scout, was amongst those that watched the wonderkid play for the Toffees within the FA Youth Cup just a few months earlier than he grew to become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League historical past.

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Convincing Rooney to depart his boyhood membership again then was fanciful at greatest; now, Rooney’s sights have been set on taking part in within the Champions League for Manchester United and dealing with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Nevertheless, buoyed by the funds raised from the sale of Woodgate, Shepherd threw down the gauntlet to the Crimson Devils after vowing to ‘make a signing that can rock the world of soccer’.

“I met Bobby one lunchtime,” Woods instructed ChronicleLive. “We have been going up within the elevate and he stated to me, ‘You should not say something however Freddy has supplied £20m money for Rooney’. I stated, ‘Actually?’

“I have not instructed many individuals this story however it’s true. Newcastle have been very severe and Freddy providing £20m money for a younger boy…my phrase! That was some huge cash on the time. We have been very concerned with him.”

Whereas that £20m bid was finally rejected, Sir Bobby had instructed Shepherd that he would by no means cease him bringing in Rooney.

Nevertheless, the Newcastle supervisor additionally identified that he already had 4 strikers to maintain blissful in Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy, Shola Ameobi and new arrival Patrick Kluivert.

Shepherd merely instructed Sir Bobby that was his downside and it didn’t come as an enormous shock that Bellamy’s nostril was inevitably put out of joint by the membership’s curiosity in Rooney.

Shearer, in distinction, stated it could be a ‘nice transfer’ for Rooney and a ‘nice funding for this soccer membership’.

A lot has been fabricated from Newcastle supposed curiosity – was it a publicity stunt? – however Shepherd had no less than requested the query as Paul Gregg, the Everton director who owned a 23% stake within the membership on the time, recollects.

“I bear in mind going to a board assembly in Liverpool to satisfy with Invoice Kenwright and, on the best way, I had a name from Freddy Shepherd asking if I’d be concerned with promoting Wayne Rooney to Newcastle,” Gregg instructed ChronicleLive.

“I stated to him, ‘I feel if the provide was proper, everybody would think about that’. I bear in mind saying it would not be any lower than £25m – perhaps even larger – which was fairly some huge cash on the time and we desperately wanted the cash.

“He requested the query – that is for positive – however I came upon to my absolute amazement that Shepherd had been in a gathering with Invoice Kenwright within the morning so I do not know why he ran it previous me, too.”

Sir Bobby had watched Rooney’s spectacular shows at Euro 2004 as a commentator for ITV and marvelled at how the famous person performed like a 28-year-old moderately than a 18-year-old.

Within the weeks after that match, it was clear that the in-demand Rooney was going to be on the transfer because the switch window drew to a detailed.

Whereas the saga performed out, Rooney was stepping up his restoration from a damaged foot at Everton’s Bellefield coaching floor.

Mick Rathbone, the membership’s head of sports activities medication, who helped Rooney via his rehabilitation, had a greater understanding than most into simply what was unfolding.

“I used to be conscious that it was both or,” Rathbone instructed ChronicleLive. “Clearly, I wasn’t instantly concerned however the phrase on the grapevine across the membership was that each golf equipment have been equally going for it.

“There was speak that Newcastle had are available in on the final second and Manchester United wasn’t really the form of fait accompli that all of us thought it was.”

Manchester United had really been briefing journalists that, financially, it made extra sense to do the deal the next 12 months as a result of the membership had already signed Louis Saha, Alan Smith and Gabriel Heinze in 2004.

ChronicleLive understands that there was a sense inside membership that Newcastle’s curiosity had merely been used to use strain on the Crimson Devils.

Nevertheless, having burnt some bridges at Everton, Rooney couldn’t afford to remain at his boyhood membership for one more 12 months.

In consequence, Rooney was ready to go to Newcastle on one situation: a clause can be inserted into his contract whereby if Manchester United got here in for the striker a 12 months later, and matched what Newcastle paid Everton, he might transfer to Outdated Trafford in 2005.

It was made clear to Manchester United that Rooney would be a part of Newcastle if the Crimson Devils didn’t enter the bidding warfare, which appeared to pressure the membership’s hand a little bit.

Certainly, Sir Alex Ferguson, himself, later admitted that ‘if Newcastle hadn’t are available in for him, he would not be right here’ after Manchester United’s lastly accomplished a deal price as much as £27m on deadline day in August, 2004.

The conclusion to the saga didn’t come as a shock to Marcus Bent who, in his personal phrases, was the person handed the ‘daunting’ process of ‘filling Wayne’s boots’ at Everton.

“I feel all of us knew he was going,” Bent instructed ChronicleLive. “I feel David Moyes and Wayne had a little bit little bit of a love-hate relationship at that time.

“I do not actually need to go into that as a result of that is his journey and that is what he went via however it wasn’t the nicest factor to be round however Wayne wished to go. Who would not need to go to Man United? He went and did very well.

“I believed it was all about Man United. To be trustworthy, I feel if Wayne went to Newcastle, it could have been concerning the cash. I feel him going to Man United was all concerning the success, profitable trophies and doing one of the best he can for his profession and who he’s.”

Everyone knows what occurred subsequent. Rooney went on to turn into Manchester United’s report goalscorer and received each main honour within the membership recreation, together with 5 league titles and the Champions League.

Shepherd, in the meantime, ended up breaking Newcastle’s switch report to signal Michael Owen a 12 months later.

The Magpies’ chairman later admitted it was the ‘worst deal’ he ever did.