Wayne Rooney moving to China would be 'madness', says former Manchester United captain Roy Keane

The England captain is weighing up his options as he nears an Old Trafford exit

Wayne Rooney leaving the Premier League for the Chinese Super League would be 'madness', says Roy Keane (Getty)

Roy Keane believes that the prospect of Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney moving to China is “madness”, and he has attempted to talk his former teammate out of the move so as to not tarnish his golden career.

Rooney looks certain to leave Old Trafford this year, with a summer move still the most likely option for the 31-year-old, after falling out of Jose Mourinho’s first-team plans to become a bit-part player this season.

Reports claim that Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, is in China to hold talks with interested parties, but The Independent revealed on Wednesday that Rooney himself does not favour a move to the Far East and would instead prefer to stay in the Premier League so he can continue his international career and captain England towards the 2018 World Cup.

Only three teams in the Chinese Super League would be eligible to sign Rooney at this stage of the season, with Beijing Guoan, Jiangsu Suning and Tianjin Quanjian having one space each available for a foreign player. However, the BBC reports that Beijing Guoan have already decided against making any offer for the United top goalscorer.

Despite the millions on offer if Rooney were to pursue a move to China, former United captain Keane has urged him to remain closer to home as he still has plenty of time left in his career to cut it in Europe.

“There is no way Wayne Rooney should be going to China, he can still play football at the top level in England, Germany, Spain, Italy – madness,” Keane said on ITV.

“Going to China is madness, he's 31-years-old and there's plenty left for Wayne Rooney to do at the top level in Europe.

“I don't think he's short of money, is he?”

Keane’s assessment of Rooney’s future was supported by former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon, who claimed that Rooney needs to weigh up if a move to the Chinese Super League is really the best option based on his football requirements, and not just for financial rewards.

“He's played a lot of football and may feel as if it's time. He has to go for footballing reasons,” said Dixon.

“His mind is still alive and whether he's slowing down physically or not, maybe in a different league but not that league.”

Keane captained Rooney during his early years at United (Getty)

Rooney’s options in China though appear to be thin on the ground, with Tianjian Quanjian also ruling themselves out of a big-money move given the striker does not fit what the head coach, former Italy international Fabio Cannavaro, is trying to build.

“We did make an approach for Rooney, but it was just chit-chat because he simply doesn’t suit our style of play,” said World Cup winner Cannavaro. “No further discussion was necessary.”