Wayne Rooney has admitted that Liverpool deserve to win the Premier League title, even if a small part of the former Everton and Man United legend was hoping the season would be canceled.
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With Liverpool 25 points clear atop the Premier League table with nine games to go they were on the verge of sealing their first league title in 30 years before the 2019-20 PL season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been suggestions the 2019-20 season should be ‘null and void’ but the official stance from the Premier League and the English FA is that the current campaign will be ‘extended indefinitely’ as the will is to finish the season.
Writing in his new column for The Times, Rooney revealed that the temptation is there to push for the season to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic but he’s put his club loyalties to one side to give Liverpool their dues.
“Liverpool will win the Premier League,” Rooney said. “Now, as you can imagine, I have Everton fans phoning me up saying: ‘The season has to be canceled!’ And, of course, as an Evertonian and someone who played for Manchester United for 13 years, there’s a bit in me that thinks that would be good. But no. Liverpool have been fantastic. They have put so much work in. They deserve this title. Can you imagine waiting 30 years and then having it taken away like this? The right decision has been made.
”It’s also right in terms of promotion and relegation and Champions League places. These issues are so big for the clubs involved that I imagine there would be a lot of legal fights if the season was just abandoned. The fair thing is to finish 2019-20 – even if we have to lose next season in the process. It wouldn’t surprise me if finishing the season takes until the end of 2020. Football, like every other industry, is in unknown territory and, just like every other industry, has to listen to the advice and take all necessary precautions. For me, that rules out finishing the season behind closed doors.”
Rooney’s sentiments are shared by pretty much everyone.
Even the most ardent Everton and Man United fans, among others, would admit that Liverpool are worthy champions and plans should be made to award them the title if the 2019-20 campaign can’t be resumed due to coronavirus.
Most people would agree with Rooney’s comments about the rest of the 2019-20 campaign too. If it takes until December to finish this season, that is how long it should take.
