Wayne Rooney says he is staying at Manchester United

Wayne Rooney has put to bed rumours of a possible move to China and has announced he is staying at Manchester United until at least the end of the season.

The United captain has been heavily linked with a move to the Chinese Super League ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline after dropping down the pecking order at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho this season.

Teams in China were reportedly willing to offer Rooney in excess of £750,000-a-week in order to make him the world’s highest paid player, which would have more than doubled his current salary at United.

However, Rooney has moved to put an end to on going transfer speculation and announced he will remain at the club for the remainder of the season, although his future beyond that still remains in doubt.

“Despite the interest which has been shown from other clubs, for which I’m grateful, I want to end recent speculation and say that I am staying at Manchester United,” Rooney told the club’s official website.

“I hope I will play a full part in helping the team in its fight for success on four fronts. It’s an exciting time at the club and I want to remain a part of it."

The 31-year-old is a doubt for Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Southampton after only returning to training in the week, although he isn’t expected to start given how far down the pecking order he now is. In fact, Rooney has only started 17 of 41 games for United this season.

Despite struggling for game time, Rooney has scored or assisted 14 goals this season and became the club’s record goalscorer with a stoppage time equaliser against Stoke in January.

For more stats on Wayne Rooney, click here to visit his WhoScored player page