Wayne Rooney has revealed that three clubs made approaches to sign him from Manchester United back in 2010.

The ex-England striker had appeared set to leave Old Trafford after a public fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson, which led him to hand in a transfer request.

Rooney even released a statement confirming his desire to leave, explaining that it wasn’t about money but rather his ambition.

However, the saga took an unexpected turn as Rooney eventually signed a new five-year contract with Manchester United, staying at the club for another seven years.

“When I told Manchester United in 2010 that I did not want to sign a new deal and put in a transfer request, three clubs came in for me,” Rooney told BBC Sport.

“Manchester City are often talked about as being one of them, but I don’t think that was ever an option for me – the teams who made an approach were Chelsea, Real and Barcelona.”

In the heat of the transfer talks, Rooney admits that in his mind, he was ready to leave and play in Spain, and discussions did take place.

“A deal with Real looked more likely for a couple of days but it was Barcelona whom I thought about the most, and how I might fit into their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.”

Despite the enticing offers from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, Rooney ultimately chose to remain at United, though he reflected on how appealing Barcelona’s setup was at the time.

“In the end I decided to stay at United, but Barca had an incredible team then and any player would have loved to have played in it.”