Manchester United chief executive David Gill believes Wayne Rooney signing a new deal sends a determined message to the club’s detractors.

The final chapter in a story which will be remembered for a long time by those who witnessed it, let alone those at the centre, came when Rooney signed a five-year contract extension with the Premier League club.

It commits Rooney to United until 2015 and makes him the highest-paid player in the club’s history, with a new wage believed to be in the region of £150,000 a week.

The player had raised questions about United’s ambition, with news he was looking for another club alerting Europe’s big teams.

However, his U-turn prompted Gill to say:

“It’s a great day for the club. To those who say Manchester United cannot compete any more, we can – and we will continue to.”

He added on Sky Sports News:

“We are here to make sure we’ve got a great team and do what we do off the field by investing in the team and the facilities here.

“I fully understand that in order to have results off the pitch we need a great team on it.

“We’ve been challenging at the top of the table for years and intend being there for many years to come.”

On Rooney, who is out for around three weeks with an ankle injury, Gill added:

“By and large, everyone realises he is a great player.

“I’m convinced he’ll get back to that form as soon as he’s fit and back on the pitch.”

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney might have agreed a new contract but he will still be out for three weeks with an ankle injury.

The England hitman was carried out of training on Tuesday as the storm over his future raged.

And Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Rooney will now be out of action until the middle of next month.

“Wayne will be out for three weeks,” he told radio station Key103.

The news only adds another twist to the events of the last few days. It was Rooney’s claim that he was not suffering from an ankle problem – which completely contradicted the words of his manager – following England’s draw with Montenegro 10 days ago that started the whole rumpus in the first place.

Rooney has already sat out matches against Valencia and Sunderland prior to the international break.

He did make a brief appearance against West Brom on Saturday, when he was shunted out on the left wing, but is now set to miss the remainder of a congested period of the season.

Significantly, the timescale would see him ruled out of the first Manchester derby of the season on November 10.

In addition, Rooney will also miss the Champions League return against Bursaspor a week earlier, next week’s Carling Cup tie with Wolves, plus Premier League games against Stoke on Sunday, Tottenham the following week, and Wolves again when they visit Old Trafford on November 6.

Manchester United have confirmed striker Wayne Rooney has done a U-turn on his future and agreed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils confirmed the news at lunchtime, ending an amazing week, which included Rooney insisting United no longer matched his ambitions.

Yet after a staggering 24-hour period, and a demonstration by irate fans at Rooney’s house in Prestbury last night, Rooney is now set to stay at Old Trafford.

“Sometimes, when you’re in a club, it can be hard to realise just how big it is and it takes something like the events of the last few days to make you understand,” said Sir Alex Ferguson.

“I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is.”

It barely seemed credible such a position could be arrived at so quickly. But the conciliatory nature of a holding statement from United last night suggested rapprochement was in the offing.

And, after consultation with the owners, who allayed his fears about the future direction of United, Rooney agreed to extend his contract, which will now expire in 2015.

“It’s been a difficult week, but the intensity of the coverage is what we expect at Manchester United,” said Ferguson. “I said to the boy that the door is always open and I am delighted Wayne has agreed to stay.

“I am pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United’s great players.

“It shows character and belief in what we stand for.

“I am sure everyone involved with the club will now get behind Wayne and show him the support he needs to produce the performances we know he is capable of.”

Darren Fletcher has led the defence of his Manchester United team-mates against Wayne Rooney’s allegations they are not good enough for him.

As one of the players believed to have been targeted by Roy Keane in 2005 during his infamous interview with MUTV that was so explosive it was never screened and, within a month, had heralded the Irishman’s exit from Old Trafford, Fletcher is acutely aware of the impact Rooney’s astonishing declaration made last night.

Coming just two hours before the 1-0 win over Bursaspor, it forced Sir Alex Ferguson to make an impassioned post-match defence of his recruitment policy, triggered high level discussions that involved the Scot, chief executive David Gill and United’s controversial Glazer family owners, as well as striking a chord with the body of supporters who feel their club is being hamstring by a massive debt burden.

Yet Fletcher emerged from the maelstrom to declare United to be in good hands.

The Scotland skipper was not about to claim Rooney is anything other than a world-class talent.

He just feels a quick look at the history books should help calm the fears of fans likening this week’s staggering events as something close to Armageddon.

“You have to accept big players and big stars move on at every club,” said Fletcher.

“Fans don’t like to hear that or see it happen. But it is part of modern-day football.

“We should all remember what a big club Manchester United is. The biggest in the world.

“High-profile players have left in the past but the club itself just keeps going.

“There will be moments when we are down. There will be disappointments. Strength of character comes from how you respond to them; how you react to the challenge.

“If anything, it should galvanise the squad because we all need to come together. The fans need to trust us and get behind the team.”

Fletcher was just 21 when Keane was said to have ranted that he “did not know why people raved” about the Dalkeith-born player.

Five years on, having made over 250 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit and now recognised as one of the most forceful box-to-box midfielders in the Premier League, Fletcher is one of those who will be expected to carry United through their crisis.

Having assumed the captaincy of his country, it is a responsibility he find easy to accept.

“You almost fall into the role because you have been here for so long,” he admitted.

“I know what the club is about.

“I have been through challenging situations before and the experience helps.

“You know what advice to give to young players to make them concentrate on the pitch.

“That is what you must do above all else in these situations. As players we cannot control anything apart from that.

“We have a good bunch of lads. I know that because I work with them in the dressing room every day.”

Fletcher knows the same things were said about him – and Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo – as United were desperately searching for a way out of their crisis half a decade ago.

It took another 18 months – which included another seismic departure in Ruud van Nistelrooy – before the promise Ferguson had identified turned into tangible success.

Yet the three seasons from 2007 and 2009 arguably represent the greatest period in the club’s history given it brought a hat-trick of titles, one European Cup, plus a second final and a semi-final defeat to AC Milan, as well as the World Club Cup and the first of successive Carling Cups.

In the wake of Rooney’s revelations, it would seem those days are at an end.

Fletcher does not share the view.

“I am confident we can win trophies,” he said.

“We have a lot of exciting, young players, who are getting better every day. You can see in training that they are improving all the time.

“Crucially, we also have a core of experience that has been through testing situations before and won plenty of things for Manchester United.

“Looking around the dressing room, I am very content to have these guys as team-mates. I know we can win matches and I am very optimistic about the future.”

Federico Macheda knows he will get more chances if Wayne Rooney leaves Manchester United – but would still prefer to have him at Old Trafford.

With Rooney and Michael Owen ruled out through injury, Dimitar Berbatov rested and with Javier Hernandez only playing 10 minutes in preparation for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Stoke, Macheda carried the United attack against Bursaspor on Wednesday night.

At times it looked too much for the 19-year-old former Lazio academy graduate, even if Sir Alex Ferguson felt it was excellent experience.

However, with games piling up and the possibility remaining that Rooney will never pull on a red United shirt again, Macheda might have to get used to the added pressure.

It is not a responsibility he is shirking. But he would rather Rooney was around to share.

“There would be more chances for me if Wayne wasn’t here but it is better to have him in the squad,” said Macheda.

“He is a good striker. The squad is stronger with him here.”

The words at least proved Macheda was not intentionally attacking Rooney a fortnight ago when he labelled the Merseysider a fellow “chav”.

They are unlikely to even start healing a rift between Rooney and his club that looks certain to seal his departure during the January transfer window.

Yet Macheda simply does not agree with Rooney’s assessment that the current United squad lack quality.

The Italy Under-21 star insists trophies are still the aim for Ferguson and his team.

“We are capable of challenging for major trophies,” he said.

“We have a great squad. We work hard every day to win things.”

Macheda can now prepare himself to play an increased role in that challenge, if not at Stoke, then Wolves in the Carling Cup next week.

“I am young,” he said.

“Every time the manager chooses me I try to get better.

“I have been working hard in training every day for the day when I become a real player.

“It is not easy to play a full 90 minutes in a game like last night’s, especially for someone as young as me.

“But I got through it and that will help. I wish I had got a goal. Hopefully next time.”

Manchester United put the Wayne Rooney issue to one side to secure an unconvincing, but important 1-0 Champions League Group C victory over Bursaspor.

Their performance at Old Trafford was nothing special once Nani had netted the seventh-minute goal that earned United a win over the struggling Turkish outfit.

Neither did it do much to dispel Rooney’s claim his club now lack ambition, a view late chants of “we want the Glazers out” showed there was some resonance with amongst the Old Trafford faithful.

But after a traumatic view days, in which United’s world has been turned upside down by their star striker, the result was all-important.

Sir Alex Ferguson knows far greater tests lie ahead for his players, who must now respond to Rooney’s thinly disguised claim they are substandard.

But at least they are able to face the future with some optimism.

The sense of shock so evident in Ferguson yesterday was mirrored in the stands tonight.

Rooney’s own statement appears to seal his fate, and his future away from a club whose supporters have adored him, revelling in the talents of a man who abandoned his boyhood idols Everton aged just 18 for the lure of what he might achieve.

Three titles and a European Cup later, the Rooney era is at an end.

His damning verdict about a lack of investment in Ferguson’s squad would have met with some agreement from those who looked at the team sheet and felt Tomasz Kuszczak, Chris Smalling and Federico Macheda are not quite what United need to challenge Chelsea and hold off the threat of Manchester City.

Amongst the substitutes sat Gabriel Obertan and Bebe, signed on August 12 as a virtual unknown, two days before Rooney began to openly question United’s recruitment policy.

Yet the home fans also sensed this was not a night for recriminations, at least until victory was virtually certain in this most trying of campaigns.

On occasions such as this, unity is required.

Within six minutes they had something tangible to cheer.

As Rooney is consigned to history and Antonio Valencia condemned to spend a few months recovering from a broken ankle, Nani is going to be a key man.

It is a quite remarkable position to be in for a player who, 12 months ago, would have been ushered through the exit door with barely a second thought.

Yet his speed and trickery have now found new focus.

And after he collected Darren Fletcher’s short pass and nipped inside a couple of static Bursaspor defenders, the Portugal winger spotted his opportunity, went for goal for 30 yards and duly saw his left-footed effort find the corner.

A second would have come in very handy to settle some nerves, if not all given recent shoddy defensive performances.

But skipper Nemanja Vidic and midfielder Michael Carrick – who has so much to prove – were both off target with their half chances and it took an excellent Rafael tackle to rob Ozan Ipek and preserve United’s lead after the Bursaspor anchor man had shrugged Vidic aside rather too easily.

By no means could it be classed as vintage United.

After the break Patrice Evra burst into the area but was unable to beat Dimitar Ivankov from an acute angle, then Macheda failed to collect Anderson’s short pass when the goal would have been gaping if he had.

Nani then accepted an invitation to shoot from the edge of the box, although this time Ivankov was able to make the save. The less said about his free-kick, which went soaring over the bar, the better.

Rooney’s replacement, if there can be such a thing, is Javier Hernandez, the Mexican, whose early weeks at United have already gained him credibility.

He was introduced for Anderson 13 minutes from time as United looked to seal their triumph.

Hernandez was quick to test Ivankov, although Obertan had already hit the outside of a post with a rather tame header from Nani’s corner.

United came no closer and, luckily for them, they didn’t require it.

Sir Alex Ferguson accused Wayne Rooney of failing to respect Manchester United after confirming the England striker wants to leave the club.

Exactly a week after Rooney blew his relationship with Ferguson wide open, the United boss has responded in the most damning manner.

In a monologue that lasted exactly six minutes and 33 seconds at the end of a press conference to preview Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with Bursaspor, Ferguson confirmed the 24-year-old had asked to leave Old Trafford but declared “the door was still open” for him to stay.

Ferguson will have put every major European club on red alert, including Manchester City, who have more cash than anyone and know just how audacious a move for Rooney would be.

Everton are also going to be interested observers considering they stand to pocket 25% of any transfer fee United receive, above the £27million sum they initially spent to buy the player in 2004.

Ferguson is not the type to open his heart. Yet that is how it seemed as he tried to draw conclusions from the complete U-turn Rooney’s career path has taken since he announced last spring his intention to remain with United for life.

The Scot’s assessment did not make pretty reading for a player who celebrates his 25th birthday on Saturday and whose private life is mired in controversy amid lurid allegations that came to light in September.

“I was in the office on August 14 and (chief executive) David (Gill) phoned me,” outlined Ferguson.

“He had got a phone call from his agent saying that he (Rooney) wasn’t signing a contract.

“I couldn’t believe it. I just was dumbfounded. I could not understand it because only months before he was saying he was at the greatest club in the world and he wanted to stay for life.

“We just don’t know what’s changed the boy’s mind.

“The next step was going to be important, decisive for us.

“I then asked to have a meeting with the boy and he reiterated what his agent had said – he wanted to go.

“The one thing I said was ‘Just remember one thing: respect this club. I don’t want any nonsense from you. Respect the club’.

“I don’t know if he’s done that. I have got doubts on that because we’re reading things about falling out with me and all that nonsense. It’s disappointing because we have done everything we possibly can to help Wayne Rooney from the minute he’s come to the club.”

It is quite extraordinary such news remained secret until Sunday.

Also somewhat surprising is the fact United did not try to cash in before the transfer window closed on August 31 given Rooney now only has 20 months on his present deal left to run.

On days such as this though, Ferguson stands on his own on centre stage and, without mentioning him by name, criticising the influence of Rooney’s long-time adviser Paul Stretford.

“With the modern-day players it is not as easy as it was many years ago,” he said.

“Then the player would trust and depend on the manager. You also had more contact with parents.

“But that has gone now. It is dealing with agents who live in the pockets of players. It’s a pity.”

It is from that position Ferguson is insisting the door is still open.

The chances of Rooney walking through it, even before he was amazingly strechered off United’s Carrington training ground with an ankle injury – the injury that started the whole explosion a week ago – appear slim, with a January exit rated most likely.

But an offer remains, if not a contract. Discussions never actually got that far.

“We realise and recognise the quality of the player, that’s why the negotiations were starting early summer – two years before his contract was up – to extend that contract,” said Ferguson.

“So we were honouring that request from Wayne to stay at the club he loved.

“David was prepared, following discussions with our owners to offer Wayne the best contract any player could have.

“Now there is no offer on the table because they are not prepared to listen to one.”

Neither was Rooney prepared to accept Ferguson’s claim that an ankle injury had ruled him out of recent games against Valencia and Sunderland, even though his manager now admits it was partly a device aimed at saving the player from professional humiliation.

“He was injured,” said Ferguson.

“Why he came out and said what he did (in the mixed zone at Wembley), you can only guess yourself.

“You have times when you know that a player’s form is a little bit down that you say he has an injury simply because you are protecting him.

“You don’t want to humiliate him because you respect him.

“In this case I felt that we would give him a complete break to get rid of all traces of the ankle injury, play for England, hoping we’d get his form back.

“That was the intention.”

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United’s implosion against West Brom is a sign of how recent results have affected the players mentally.

United lost a two-goal lead for the third time this season against the Baggies at Old Trafford on Saturday – and that does not count the trip to Fulham when they missed a late penalty and then conceded an equaliser to Brede Hangeland.

Their weekend misery did not come quite so late yet the expected response did not materialise, with West Brom looking the more likely to win the game in the latter stages.

On the eve of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Bursaspor at Old Trafford, Ferguson claimed the meek surrender was the result of mental insecurity.

“The reason for the lack of response on Saturday was not to do with the game itself, it was to do with the previous matches where we have thrown points away,” said Ferguson.

“They start thinking ‘Christ, here is another one’. That is the impact you get. The conscious part comes into it.

“They are saying to themselves ‘we are going to have to face the gaffer and explain this again’. But it is inexplicable.”

Ferguson cited West Brom’s equaliser as an example.

A routine cross from Chris Brunt would normally be collected with ease by Edwin van der Sar. This time it was spilled at the feet of Somen Tchoyi, who gleefully tapped home.

“The mistake was uncanny,” said Ferguson.

“Here is a player with 130 caps for Holland and the most fantastic career you could imagine and he makes a mistake like that.

“You cannot even criticise him because he doesn’t deserve that.

“He is allowed to make one horrendous mistake in his life. It was at a time when we didn’t need it, of course, but it happens.

“You just have to wash it away.”

John O’Shea remained on the bench throughout Saturday’s debacle. However, he was on the pitch at Fulham and Everton, when United suffered their first mishaps of the season, and against Liverpool, when they needed Dimitar Berbatov’s late strike to rescue them.

And he recognises something has to be done – and quickly.

“It is hard to explain why we are losing the goals we have,” said the Irishman.

“You see the quality and the record we have had in the past but it is something we have to address quickly. With the players we have we will do that.

“Nine times out of 10 if we keep a clean sheet we are going to win the game because of the attacking quality we have.”

As he tries to engineer a way out of the mess United find themselves in, whilst at the same time dealing with the fall-out from his own dramatic interjection into Wayne Rooney’s career, the one consolation Ferguson is able to draw is that such troubles are having to be confronted in October rather than April.

“Fortunately it is happening now and we can do something about it,” he said.

“There is a long way to go and we always do better in the second half of the season. We hope that will be the case this year.”

United can take the first step forward by dismissing the Turkish champions, who are yet to collect a point from their first two games in Europe’s number one club competition.

Ferguson has pledged to make changes, although Michael Owen and Jonny Evans are on the sidelines in addition to Rooney, who may never return.

But, after registering a disappointing draw against Rangers five weeks ago, the Scot insists he is not taking Bursaspor lightly.

“They have lost their first two games and maybe that is their lack of experience,” he said. “The Champions League is not easy.

“With our home record we hope we can put it to bed.

“There are opportunities for one or two of the younger players who need experience – but that is not to say we are taking it lightly.”

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will prepare to face a media grilling about his relationship with Wayne Rooney on Tuesday afternoon.

The list of clubs who could realistically afford as Rooney, who has informed the United hierarchy that he will not sign an extension to his contract, is pretty short.

Barcelona are said to be trying to trim back their outgoings, while their bitter rivals Real Madrid invested heavily this summer.

Italy is not exactly awash with money, whilst Bayern Munich spent considerable amounts last summer building a squad to suit Louis van Gaal, while in England, only Chelsea or Manchester City would stump up the wages required to secure the forward’s services.

The mere mention of City’s name will send a shudder through most United supporters, who acknowledge what a positive impact Carlos Tevez has had since his own move across town to Eastlands.

At a time when they appear vulnerable after registering five draws in their opening eight games, United would resist that move with vigour.

Yet Rooney has apparently indicated a willingness to join the cash-rich Eastlands outfit, for whom money is no object.

Having stirred up a heap of controversy last season by declaring an interest in Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and reaped the rewards of Tevez’s motivation to wreak havoc on his old club, Blues boss Roberto Mancini is hardly likely to shy away from such a deal.

There has been some conjecture that Rooney’s advisors have come up with an elaborate plan to try and force more money out of United, having been unimpressed with a contract offer that was due to be negotiated immediately after his post-World Cup break.

But Rooney’s grievances appear genuine and deep-rooted, possibly extending beyond the manner with which Ferguson has dealt with the issues over his player’s personal life.

The United manager is thought to be unimpressed at Rooney’s behaviour, just as the player is thought to be not too pleased at his club’s recent recruitment policy.

It adds powerful intrigue to Ferguson’s scheduled date with the media at a UEFA press conference at Old Trafford to preview Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with Bursaspor.

And while skipper Nemanja Vidic can do nothing to affect the Rooney situation, he knows a great deal of improvement is required following a spate of needless draws.

“We have to find the balance between attack and defence,” he said.

“I definitely feel we have it in us and I am sure it will come.

“It is about the whole team. You feel better when you are winning and scoring goals. When you keep a clean sheet you have more belief and confidence.

“That is what will help us to improve.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger expects Wayne Rooney to stay with Manchester United amid reports his negotiations over a new deal have broken down.

The 24-year-old England striker is being linked with a move to Real Madrid or Manchester City after it was reported his relationship with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had turned sour.

Wenger, however, believes too much has been made of Ferguson’s decision to leave Rooney out of his starting line-up for the Barclays Premier League match against West Brom on Saturday and cannot see the former Everton man moving on.

Quoted in the Daily Star, Wenger said:

“Rooney is a great player. I am convinced he will stay at Manchester United because it is his club.

“They have the power to keep him. When you give a great player a rest, you have a story. Rooney is Rooney. He will stay where he is.”

Rooney’s existing United contract expires in 2012 and Wenger added:

“I am surprised his contract has been allowed to run.

“But, basically, I don’t know why. It can happen many times.

“What I know for players like Rooney today only three or four clubs can buy him. For Rooney, it will not be a financial choice.

“He will decide if he stays. He would say, ‘Old Trafford is my home, I will stay there’. And Manchester United would turn up with the right number. He knows that. They know that.”

Wenger believes that whether Rooney stays or not, United will struggle to regain the Premier League title, telling The Sun:

“Chelsea won the championship last year. Rooney was at Manchester United and that didn’t stop Chelsea from winning the championship.”