LONDON, England, August 31- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he has abandoned his attempts to prise England striker Wayne Rooney from Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Chelsea have had two bids for the 27-year-old rejected by United and after Monday’s 0-0 draw between the sides, Mourinho said he would only wait “48 hours” for Rooney to make a decision on his future.
However, speaking after Chelsea’s penalty shootout defeat by Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup in Prague on Friday, Mourinho admitted that Rooney would not be arriving at Stamford Bridge.
“For all parties, it’s finished,” he told Sky Sports. “One thing is to tell you through other people that you want, you want, you want very much, but at the end of the day…
“I feel everyone has the right to show his life, his future, and I respect that.”
Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o joined Chelsea on a one-year contract on Thursday and Mourinho said the former Barcelona and Inter Milan player would be his last new signing of the close season.
“It’s the end. We have a good group,” said the Portuguese.
“Samuel will give us another kind of qualities in attack. He is an experienced player in a team that needs some experienced players.”
Meanwhile, United manager David Moyes has challenged Rooney to put an unsettled close season behind him and focus on becoming an Old Trafford great.
Rooney is 52 goals behind Bobby Charlton’s United scoring record of 249 and Moyes believes there is no reason why he cannot surpass that milestone.
“I’m really keen on getting him focused and on the goal sheet,” said Moyes, whose side visit Liverpool on Sunday.
“There is a situation with Wayne where he could go on to emulate some of the greats at United with the goals he can score.
“I wouldn’t say the heights of immortal people, but those like Sir Bobby Charlton are on as high a pedestal as anybody can get. We’ve set it down for him — can you put yourself in this position?”
