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Why one night in Munich cost Wayne Rooney his place alongside Manchester United's true greats

Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney

The 2009-10 season propelled Wayne Rooney onto the verge of true greatness but would ultimately signal the beginning of his decline as a Manchester United player.

Rooney has gone on to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, securing the accolade with a stunning free-kick in a 1-1 draw with Stoke City on Saturday, but the debate rages over where he ranks in a list of United’s legends.

There is no doubting England’s top marksman, an honour he also claimed by overtaking Bobby Charlton last September at Wembley, is one of the best players of his generation.

However, when compared to the likes of the Holy Trinity of George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, Rooney is not universally adored by the Old Trafford faithful.

More modern examples like Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and to a lesser extent Cristiano Ronaldo are also more widely revered in Manchester despite Rooney’s unparalleled striking achievements.

It did not have to be this way.

Rooney’s place in the upper echelons of the United pantheon would have been sealed had he not been left in a crumpled heap on the Allianz Arena turf on the evening of March 30, 2010.

Rooney lies injured at the Allianz Arena
Rooney lies injured at the Allianz Arena

READ MORE: Rooney’s greatest Man United goals in pictures

Earlier that night, with the Champions League quarter-final tie just 64 seconds old in fact, Rooney had given his team the lead by smashing his 18th goal in 13 games in a campaign that would see him hit the net 34 times.

That season saw Rooney approach the same dizzying heights as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, recording the same ridiculous figures as the more vaunted pair, but his tangle with Mario Gomez proved a turning point.

His ankle injury was not as bad as first feared but would continue to hinder him in the run up to the World Cup in South Africa where he would flop spectacularly with the Three Lions despite having been named PFA Player of the Year in April.

Rooney only scored twice for Manchester United in the last nine months of 2010 and angered supporters when Sir Alex Ferguson revealed he had asked for a transfer in October.

[ANALYSIS: WHAT NOW FOR WAYNE ROONEY?]

“I met with David Gill [United’s chief executive] last week and he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad,” Rooney said in his defence. “I then told him that I would not be signing a new contract.

“I was interested to hear what Sir Alex had to say yesterday and surprised by some of it. It is absolutely true, as he said, that my agent and I have had a number of meetings with the club about a new contract. During those meetings in August I asked for assurances about the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world.

“I have never had anything but complete respect for MUFC. How could I not have done given its fantastic history and especially the last six years in which I have been lucky to play a part?

Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson
Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson

READ MORE: Mourinho would not block Rooney transfer

“For me its all about winning trophies – as the club has always done under Sir Alex. Because of that I think the questions I was asking were justified.

“Despite recent difficulties, I know I will always owe Sir Alex Ferguson a huge debt. He is a great manager and mentor who has helped and supported me from the day he signed me from Everton when I was only 18.

“For Manchester United’s sake I wish he could go on forever because he’s a one‑off and a genius.”

Had things turned out differently that night in Munich, Rooney’s upward curve may have continued. He may have recorded more remarkable goalscoring figures like the ones he registered before that blow to his ankle.

[IN PICTURES: ROONEY’S BEST-EVER GOALS FOR UNITED]

He would ever have been on par with Ronaldo and Messi, there is no shame in that, but the explosive Rooney who burst onto the scene at Euro 2004 never quite became the player he could have been.

Cantona had his share of baggage but went out at the top after helping to lay the foundations for Ferguson’s lengthy period of dominance. Rooney was nearing the top of his game in 2010 but his ride to the summit was derailed.

But Ferguson, who as Rooney points out, is a one-off and United fans would dearly love to have the Scotsman back at the helm after the struggles that have followed his retirement from management.

When Rooney hangs up his boots, whether that is at Old Trafford or after one last big paycheque in China, Manchester United won’t have the same trouble replacing the England international as their greatest ever manager.

Current United manager Jose Mourinho would not lose any sleep if that day came tomorrow.

Follow Matt Lewis on Twitter via @mattlewis27