Wayne Rooney urged to think carefully ahead of China move by Super League's only English player
Jack Sealy, who plays for for Changchun Yatai FC, has warned Rooney he could regret moving
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has been warned by the only English player in the Chinese Super League to do his homework before deciding to move to the country.
Defender Jack Sealy, 29, currently plays for Changchun Yatai FC, having moved to the club from Hong Kong side South China AA.
A number of Chinese clubs have been linked with a move for Rooney – from Fabio Cannavaro’s Tianjin Quanjian to Manuel Pellegrini’s Hebei China Fortune – with the England international looking set to leave United at the end of the current season.
But Sealy has urged his compatriot to think carefully before deciding to exchange the Premier League for the Super League and has stressed that there are very few similarities between Manchester and China.
“It’s vital Wayne does his research and I don’t just mean Google. He should come and check the place out before putting pen to paper — otherwise he might regret it,” Sealy told The Sun.
“China is not like Manchester. He will be hard pressed to find any similarities here. The culture is different, the food is different, the people are different and the football is different. He should be prepared for that and it’s vital he keeps an open mind.”
Sealy has also urged Rooney to think very carefully about his choice of club, suggesting the England captain would be better off sticking to one of the country's cities.
“My simple advice to Wayne would be to stick to a club that is near or in the southern cities of Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou,” he added. “These places are modern, developed and have an international population.
“But if he was to stray up to my city, Changchun, or go somewhere like Yanbian, he might not like it and want to come home after a few months.
“He will struggle to find many people who speak English and won’t find too many of the creature comforts he’s used to.”
This week it emerged that Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, had flown out to China to hold talks with several clubs trying to sign Rooney before the Chinese transfer window closes on Tuesday.
Former Italian defender Cannavaro, who moved to Tianjin Quanjian after an unsuccessful stint at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC, revealed that his club had made an approach to sign Rooney but were yet to make an official offer.
“We did make an approach for Rooney, but it was just a chat because he simply doesn’t suit our style of play,” Cannavaro told Chinese outlet Tianjin TV.
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