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By Nick Harris
21 October 2010
The former Manchester United striker and Paul Stretford client Andy Cole has this evening asserted that Stretford “is a key factor in what’s going on with Manchester United’s best player [Wayne Rooney] at the moment.”
Writing in his column for the Friday edition of the Abu Dhabi newspaper, The National, (link to full column here) Cole recalls how Stretford “became a big part of my life”, gained him a record transfer to Manchester United and “made me part of the family.”
He writes: “I moved to Manchester and stayed at Stretford’s house as he made me part of the family. I thought it was a generous gesture – I later found out that he had been deducting rent from my earnings…
“[Stretford] hated the idea of anyone getting close to me, just as he does with Wayne. He was very domineering, but I let him be like that because I thought he had my best interest at heart.”
Cole goes on to write that he stopped hearing from Stretford when he was no longer making the agent money. He also suggests Stretford as a plan for Rooney. More of the column here.
“Stretford wasn’t motivated by friendships, but money,” Cole writes. ” I wasn’t the only player who stopped hearing from him when I’d served my purpose. People don’t speak well of him. I’ve seen him a few times since and he’s had nothing more than a grunt from me.
“There’s a lot of second guessing going on with Rooney at the moment, but Stretford will be very close to the decision making. He’ll have a plan for Wayne on and off the field.”
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