Wayne Rooney

WAYNE ROONEY’S love affair with English football will keep him at Manchester United for the rest of his top-class career.

The £28m England star would be welcomed by any top club in Europe – but Rooney has reassured United fans he is going nowhere.

“It is down to English players if they decide to play abroad, but, for me, English football is the best,” he said after helping Sir Alex Ferguson’s side into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

“I love playing here and I’m pretty sure that will never change.”

That is the same as saying he will never leave Old Trafford, for where else in this country would Rooney go?

It is down to English players if they decide to play abroad, but, for me, English football is the best Wayne Rooney

The 22-year-old Scouser is a died-in-the-wool Northerner, although, as an ex-Evertonian, he certainly would never join Liverpool.

United’s Theatre of Dreams has become Rooney’s spiritual home in the four seasons since he quit Goodison.

And as he contemplates a possible quarter-final draw against Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, Rooney added: “Our game has improved so much in the past few seasons.

“We have proved we have the best league in the world, which is why we attract the best players in the world.

“In my eyes, it is by far the best league in the world.”