Neil Webb believes Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is in "shock" over Wayne Rooney's decision to leave Old Trafford.
The former Nottingham Forest player is best placed to know what life is like on the wrong side of the Manchester United boss and he believes Rooney must have found another club to provoke a reaction like this.
He told talkSPORT: "His head has been turned by money. I think he has [found another club]. You don't come out and say these things. There are two players who have wanted to leave Manchester United in the last 20-30 years and that's been Ronaldo, and that took a year for Fergie to decide that £80million is too good an offer to turn down, and Wayne.
"Apart from that people fell out with Fergie because they didn't want to leave Old Trafford but the manager said 'right that's it, your time's up - I'm going to sell you'.
"This is the first time really [that someone has stated they wanted to leave the club], and looking at Sir Alex's face yesterday on the news, he was in shock, he's tried to help with Wayne's off the field problems.
"To come out at 24 years of age and leave United, I'm dumfounded really. I mean I never wanted to leave, it was the fact that I didn't get on with the manager in the end."
When asked whether the Red Devils could go on and win major honours this season Webb said: "Without him [Wayne Rooney] they could but they are not playing well enough as a unit.
"When Alex did it before and he culled the club and brought in Beckham, Neville and Scholes they did it straight away ,but with the young kids he's bringing through I think it could be two seasons for them all to gel and for them to get into the United way of winning things before they win a major trophy again."
