It's the biggest story of the Barclays Premier League season so far - bar none.
When the Sunday Mirror decided to lead with their exclusive story that Wayne Rooney wanted to leave Manchester United, the football world sat up and took note. Previously, there had been no firm indications that such a story would transpire following the recent allegations surrounding Rooney's private life. Was this for real or, as with so much of the transfer gossip, had the Sunday Mirror been fed information that would later turn out to be mere rumour? The fact that every national paper's sports section led with a similar story on Monday morning confirmed that there was indeed substance to the claims. The man who, less than 10 months ago, had said he wanted to finish his career at Old Trafford was now seemingly heading for the exit...
The scribes had expected a full rebuttal of the claims by Sir Alex Ferguson during his mid-week press conference this afternoon, but what transpired was something that shocked everyone involved in the footballing sphere. Sir Alex, in an un-characteristically frank exchange with the gathered media, admitted the rumours were indeed true. Sir Alex went on to say that Rooney had been offered a generous contract and the support of the club following recent allegations, and he honestly couldn't understand why the striker would want away from the club.
The press conference was, yet again, a huge victory for Twitter. Those who follow the likes of the BBC's Dan Roan (@danroan), Matt Dickinson from The Times (@DickinsonTimes) or The Guardian's Daniel Taylor (@DTGuardian) got a unique blow-by-blow insight into not only the breaking news - literally as it happened - but also the general feeling of shock and amazement amongst those gathered at the press conference. So often we have seen Sir Alex keep his cards as close as possible to his chest - focusing on on-field matters and expertly swerving questions about the future of individual players. But here he was; openly admitting that Wayne Rooney does indeed want to leave, that he can't understand his choices. For once, the great man seemed utterly powerless to do anything about a situation that has engulfed his club.
Ferguson's handling of the questioning has been praised by some of the biggest names in sports journalism. Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) said it was refreshing to see a manager talking honestly about players and contracts whilst Patrick Barclay at The Times (@pbarclaytimes) commended Ferguson on his astute handling of a topic which is set to run and run. Such was the magnitude of the discussion on Twitter, that none other than Sir Alan Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) felt compelled to congratulate Ferguson for the way he has dealt with one of the most difficult situations in his long and successful career.
The general consensus amongst journalists and fans alike is that Ferguson has won the first round of the PR battle. For possibly the first time in his career, Ferguson looked vulnerable and endeared himself to the those who have often criticised his handling of controversial situations. Ferguson has certainly won a few fans following this afternoon's revelations and there's no doubt that he's placed the ball firmly in Rooney's court - your move Wayne!
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