In 2006, Andy Webster, a defender with Heart of Midlothian, proved the right according to Article 17 of FIFA's transfer rules, to walk away from a contract by buying out the remainder of the term.
Rooney could in effect buy out his Manchester United contract for £5m and a nominal fee this summer and jump over the fence at the Carrington training ground complex into the arms of City next door.There is supposed to be an unwritten agreement among members of the European Club Association that they will not exploit the Webster ruling loophole, yet this did not stop Trabzonspor of Turkey employing Tony Sylva from French club Lille in 2008, nor did it prevent the move of Jonas Gutierrez from Real Mallorca to Newcastle United.
Unwritten agreements, as any lawyer will tell you, are not worth the paper they are not written on.
Even if Manchester United were now to try to sell in the January transfer window, they would be offered a greatly inferior price by suitors who know the player can be put on the market as a free agent in the summer for roughly what Chelsea paid Liverpool for Yossi Benayoun.
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has rubber-stamped a deal for Carlo Ancelotti to sign Wayne Rooney and make him one of the highest-paid players in the world.
Manchester City also believe they are at the front of the queue to sign Rooney, although Sir Alex Ferguson is desperate to block both his rivals by driving the transfer abroad to Real Madrid.
The Russian billionaire is ready to compete with the £250,000-a-week package on offer from City, although is thought to be prepared to offer only around £20million for the player.
Ancelotti last night refused to be drawn on the Rooney issue, saying: 'I don't like it when some coaches speak about my players and I don't want to do the same for players of other teams. I have respect for United and I have respect for Sir Alex Ferguson. It's their problem.'
Ferguson fears a deal may already have been agreed with City and is focusing his efforts on selling Rooney abroad.
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| This photo was taken in 2004 when Utd bought Rooney ......... LOL |
Madrid would offer United less cash but there could be a part-exchange with Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain.
Real boss Jose Mourinho, asked in the summer which player he would most like to coach, said: 'It's an impossible dream. Wayne Rooney - as much for his brilliant mentality as for his football talent.'
WHY ROONEY SHOULD MOVE TO CHELSEA
To a footballer, Manchester is not a city, no matter what the name of the club in blue implies. It is a village. Everybody knows your business.
That is why Rooney's private indiscretions - right down to what he tipped the bell boy for a packet of fags at the Lowry hotel - ended up on page one; that is why the sordid details of Manchester United's Christmas party in 2007 did, too.
They may live in secluded, gated mansions, but Manchester players are still under 24-hour surveillance.
Times have not changed greatly from the days when Sir Alex Ferguson brought a party around Lee Sharpe's house to a furious end, having been met at the door by a startled Ryan Giggs, holding a bottle of beer.
'There was no escape,' Giggs recalls. 'He charged into the house like a bull in a china shop, cuffing people out of the way as he went. He was redfaced with rage, an uncontrollable force of nature.'
Ferguson claims to have responded to a tip-off from a member of the public, although Giggs says it was his mum.
Either way, the claustrophobic nature of Manchester has helped Ferguson oversee generations of United players.
It is hard to picture a manager in London being able to exert equivalent control. By the time he had negotiated his way around the M25, there would only be time to help clear up the empties.
The idea, then, that Rooney could blithely switch from red to blue without enduring the most debilitating backlash is surely fanciful.
The money will be good, no doubt the best around, but Rooney would play out his career as the prisoner of Prestbury. He no longer visits his local as it is, because the one time he did, word spread and he was mobbed.
Now imagine if instead of affection, the crowd had gathered with darker intent.
If his mind is made up - and when even Ferguson accepts there is little chance of reconciliation, so should we - the most sensible option would be Chelsea.
They pay big money, they win titles, they would suit his style, and in London he may find the anonymity he must crave after a traumatic year in the spotlight.
If what Rooney desires is to escape from the glare - although his people have found a funny way of showing it this week - London would be a safer bet than even Madrid, Milan or Barcelona.
During his time with Tottenham, Jurgen Klinsmann travelled around by tube train, to the extent that his farewell press conference was held at a comedy club he used to frequent in Shoreditch.
Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira are known to have used public transport on a regular basis during their time with Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas still does.
Sol Campbell has a house on the Thames, as far removed from the squabbles of north London rivals as he would be on the Amazon, while if a Mayfair address offers enough security for the American Embassy, it is also good enough for Jose Mourinho.
Arsene Wenger has lived a life of virtual anonymity around London, as has Fabio Capello. Could Rooney jump on a train in the West End, untroubled ? Given time and a low slung baseball cap, yes.
Certainly, he could become just another wealthy face walking down the road to his local, as Frank Lampard is in a posh part of town.
George Best sat in the saloon bar of the Phene Arms in Chelsea day after day, without hassle. What is certain is that if Chelsea do offer terms to Rooney, Manchester City will offer more.
What is incalculable, however, is quality of life. To exist almost under house arrest in Manchester, unable to park the car without returning to find the paintwork damaged - the delightful picture painted by Johnston in Glasgow - would be a souldestroying way to live.
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