David Moyes has told Jose Mourinho that Wayne Rooney is not for sale after the Chelsea manager said the Manchester United striker was a "player I like very much". Moyes also refused to be drawn on whether the unsettled Rooney should issue a public statement to make clear his future.

Speaking at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium, where Moyes takes charge of United’s opening pre-season tour match today against the Singha All Star XI, the Scot was asked about Mourinho’s comments. “Unless I was speaking double Dutch last week, we said Wayne Rooney is not for sale,” Moyes said.

Mourinho, talking at the team hotel in Bangkok where Chelsea are also embarking on their own tour, had been asked if Rooney would become a Chelsea player this summer. "It's a funny, tricky question from an ethical point of view as I can't talk about players from other teams," he said.

“But it is not my character to speak with hypocrisy, I always tell what I see. He’s a player that I like very much. Being fast and direct I like him very much, but he’s a Manchester United player.”

Moyes was calm about the Chelsea coach discussing Rooney. “People are entitled to talk about good players. I’m getting asked plenty of questions about Wayne,” he said.

“Jose has been asked about players as well. It’s hard to keep repeating myself but I will – Wayne is a Manchester United player and it will remain that way. I think Jose said, in his comments, that he doesn’t normally talk about other players. But it does happen.”

When it was put to Moyes that, as Rooney has said nothing publicly regarding his future, he should do so then the matter would be closed, the 50-year-old said: “I think I’ve covered all of the things on Wayne. I’ve given you everything about his injury.

"What you must remember is that Manchester United is a football club and I've got a team, and this is not about any one individual. In many ways, I'm only interested in the team. I will answer questions on Wayne, but some of them are just reverting back to things I've covered."

Sent home
Rooney was sent home after a scan revealed a slight tear to his hamstring, with the Liverpudlian having complained of it being tight in the final training session before United flew to Thailand.

Writing on Facebook, Rooney said: “Gutted to have picked up a niggling injury especially as training was going so well, heading back to Manchester to have it assessed fully but early indications are nothing to worry about.”

Moyes said: “It’s a blow that we’ve lost him because he’s been training well and looking very good. But unfortunately he just felt something in his hamstring. We did a check and found a slight grade one injury there, which will probably keep him out for about two to three weeks.”

Moyes would not be drawn on Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara, to whom Bayern Munich appear to have beaten United for his signature. “I never said at any time that he was a target,” he said. “At this moment there are people we are actively chasing. At this moment we’re happy with how things are going.”

Regarding Nemanja Vidic, who is not on tour due to a back problem, Moyes said: "He's doing fine. He's having an injection and he's on a course of injections to help his sciatica. If he improves then we'd consider bringing him out later on. Nani had an operation on his nose to clear a bit of breathing. At the moment we're not sure if flying is allowed so that's the one downside. We'll have to wait and see."
Guardian Service