No Man City contact with Wayne Rooney - Roberto Mancini
Baku, October 20 (AZERTAC) Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said the club have had no contact with want-away Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
Speculation is rife after United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the 24-year-old wants to leave Old Trafford.
United`s close rivals City have been linked with the England international.
"There has been no contact. He`s a great player but it`s not my problem. I`m concentrating on tomorrow`s match [against Lech Poznan]," stated Mancini.
The big-spending Eastlands club have already signed one former United striker recently, with Carlos Tevez joining City in July 2009 after his Red Devils contract expired.
Mancini`s side have been installed as favourites to sign Rooney after Tuesday`s revelation that the striker - whose current deal expires at the end of the 2011/12 season - wishes to leave United.
But in the press conference ahead of his team`s Europa League home match against Polish side Lech Poznan on Thursday, Mancini echoed the comments of Jose Mourinho - whose Real Madrid side have also been linked with the player - when he said he expected Rooney to stay at United.
"He is an important player for United and I think he will stay," added Mancini. "I have respect for him, for Ferguson, for United. I want to speak only about my players."
Despite his belief that Rooney will remain at Old Trafford, Mourinho admitted that he admires Rooney and that he would be interested in signing him if he was to become available.
"He probably wants to leave for some reason but I believe he belongs to Man United, he belongs to Man United fans, he belongs to Old Trafford," Mourinho told Sky Sports after Real`s 2-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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