Wayne Rooney's long road to redemption will finally be complete if the Manchester United striker can win his duel with Barcelona's Lionel Messi at Wembley on Saturday. Rooney's place in the United pantheon seemed assured by the time he helped Sir Alex Ferguson's team to a third successive Premier League title in 2009.
But less than 18 months after that triumph the 25-year-old was locked in a bitter war of words that looked set to end his stay at Old Trafford. There was a renewed sense of joy about Rooney's play as he revelled in the extra space afforded by a deep-lying role behind Javier Hernandez. Rooney himself is just glad to be enjoying life again. "The first half of the season was a bit of a write off for me. But since the turn of the year I feel I have contributed to the team and helped us win games. I have really enjoyed it," he said.