(Tom de Castella is a UK-based sports journalist and BPL contributor.)

It takes a rare man to make Alex Ferguson cry. Well, the florid Fergie famous for his eye-watering stare, tea-cup throwing tantrums and hair-dresser rants, didn't blub exactly. But when explaining to journalists earlier this week that Wayne Rooney "wanted away", he spoke slowly and deliberately like a father who'd been tricked by his favourite daughter.

Many commentators, including BPL's Francis Leach, noted how "rattled" Fergie seemed. The man famous for telling others when it was time to go - excepting Cristiano Ronaldo - seemed to have lost his grip. Like King Lear banished to the heath, he meditated on filial ingratitude: "We've done nothing but help him since he's come to this club. So we're as bemused as anyone could be because we can't quite understand why he'd want to leave. So I can't answer your questions about why is he doing it."

And then it all got very weird. When reporters asked what he made of Rooney's view that United no longer had the ambition to win trophies, he reached for the profound and came up sounding like Salvador Dali crossed with David Brent, from The Office: "Sometimes you look in a field and see a cow. You think it is a better cow than the one you see in your field. It never really works out that way."

But 48 hours after Ferguson's doleful statement came the shock news: Rooney had made a U-turn and signed a five-year contract reportedly worth £200,000 a week. So in hindsight Fergie's press conference was less emotional meltdown than a masterful class in media manipulation. While Rooney came across as greedy and disloyal, Ferguson was dignified, honest and paternal.

There are no shortage of theories - Rooney's agent wanted a few million extra quid for himself; United have put him on a five-year deal so that they can flog him off for a big fee next summer when Man City come calling again; this was really about Colleen wanting to maximize her earnings when the inevitable divorce happens; he hasn't forgiven Ferguson for rushing him back from injury last season and destroying his game. And then there were the balaclava wearing "fans" making death threats at Rooney's house the night before he signed. Did he simply panic?

While this may well have been a cunning plan by Rooney's squalid agent, Paul Stretford, to get him a big rise, the collateral damage is painful. The dressing room has turned against Rooney, his manager is wary and the fans are unwilling to forget. No, this was a mess. His public reputation, already in the gutter from the prostitutes and his arrogance at the World Cup, is further sullied.

Manchester United's status has also been damaged. The biggest-club-in-the-world tag was always questionable - it simply doesn't dominate Europe with the panache or trophy accumulation of Barcelona or Real Madrid. And whereas financial solidity was always its trump card in the past, earlier this year the club's debt stood at £716.5million. Yes, Ferguson eventually got his man. But will Rooney ever be the same player he was? Everything about him since his injury, like his woeful first touch, suggests a player short on confidence and prone to injury - he's now out for up to three weeks because of his ankle. And can United afford his new contract now that everyone else will expect a pay rise?

Unless he's had private guarantees about a financial bail out at United none of us know about, then Rooney staying comes down to one thing: cash. It demonstrates the gulf between fan and multi-millionaire footballer. But have we the fans got it all wrong? Are we pursuing an anachronistic idea of modern sport?

Many top players would privately confess that they are no different to the corporate elite. They are highly specialised professionals doing a pressurised job well, winning Premier League titles and Champions League finals. They have short careers and will go where the money is. Why should it matter about loyalty to a badge, to the manager, to their wife even? Why shouldn't they earn £250,000 a week if that's what the market will pay? And have a few hookers along the way?

Don't even bother asking about football's soul. The TV rights for that were sold long ago ... Of course the fans will keep on watching, for football, particularly on the big European nights, has the power to entrance an audience of billions in an unrivalled way. But off the pitch, the goings-on are getting ever more sordid.