Negotiating tactic it may have been, but it does not help a football club when the star player questions its ambitions.
For some, Wayne Rooney's precious concerns over "the continued ability of the club to attract the top players in the world" was a confirmation from within that Manchester United were going steadily downhill.
Beaten to the Premier League title last season and off Chelsea's pace this as match-winning leads have been ceded left, right and centre. Financially overpowered in their own city as supporters protest their own club's indebtedness. The portrait of United as a sclerotic, declining force has grown popular in the space of a few traumatic months.
The thesis can be a seductive one. Certainly there is no Premier League trophy at Old Trafford just now - for the first time in four years.
And there was no Champions League Final date last May - for the first time in three.
As they prepare to face Tottenham Hotspur - one of the division's supposed coming powers - United lag five points adrift of Chelsea, a disturbing early season deficit, if one shared with Arsenal and Manchester City.
Yet rub the statistics another way and the legs of the argument begin to buckle.
United are the league's only unbeaten team, they are yet to lose in any competition this season (including a Community Shield victory over Chelsea), and their allegedly substandard backup XI remains in a League Cup already shorn of City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea.
When it comes to the "Super Sunday" head-to-heads that often sculpt the psychological shape of the season, United have barely begun.
Sir Alex Ferguson does not meet either Chelsea or Arsenal in the league until December. A first chance to put neighbouring City back in their place comes next month.
Though the current Liverpool offer no competition for the title, an ever-difficult fixture was successfully negotiated last month.
If United are not as enfeebled as they are made out to be, neither are Chelsea as irresistible as their present image.
Their early fixture list was one of confidence-generating generosity, while their shallow squad is yet to be tested by the demands of winter and the Champions League knockout stages.
Carlo Ancelotti is well aware that he has fewer resources to work with than when he edged past Ferguson last term.
The marginal nature of that triumph is easily ignored.
Chelsea took the league by a single point, benefiting significantly from Rooney's late-season ankle injury and their own early exit from Europe.
Not only did United lose the striker's prodigious scoring when he succumbed to an ankle injury at Bayern Munich, they had also spent a significant chunk of the campaign covering for an almost unprecedented glut of defensive casualties.
"If you remember, we played with nine defenders injured," Patrice Evra said recently.
"Tell me which team - Arsenal? Chelsea? - can play with nine defenders injured and still only lose the league by one point.
"Maybe some people will say I look for an excuse when I say that, but it's true.
"To say Manchester United are finished is a big mistake."
The same applies to the manager. Ferguson's handling of Rooney's contract renegotiation was masterful, calling the player's bluff on "the cow in the neighbour's field", extracting enough cash from the owners, the Glazer family, to conclude a lucrative new contract, while tying down his most important performer for the remainder of his own career at Manchester United.
Though United have considered the succession for fear of the Scot's sudden retirement, Ferguson has told friends he wants to place hands on a third European Cup and United's 19th League title before stepping down.
His squad have weaknesses (notably in central defence and midfield), but it was ever thus with Ferguson at Old Trafford.
The most persistent of his abilities has been to override the doubters. He remains firmly in that saddle.
The match-up Key Battle Dimitar Berbatov v Younes Kaboul
Berbatov, below, has not scored since a hat-trick against Liverpool on September 19 and he would dearly love to end that sequence against his former club today. Kaboul will need to be at his sharpest to shackle the Bulgarian.
Tactics Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, showed he views Wednesday's game at home to Inter Milan as the priority when he talked of resting Gareth Bale. Spurs have a miserable record at Old Trafford and they will probably be content with a draw.
Previous meetings Spurs took the lead in the game at White Hart Lane last season and drew level at Old Trafford. However, they lacked the belief to defeat a vulnerable United side and lost both matches 3-1. It is difficult to see any other result today.
Probable line-ups United (4-4-2) Van der Sar; Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Scholes, Obertan; Berbatov, Hernandez.
Spurs: (4-4-1-1) Gomes; Hutton, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Modric, Palacios, Kranjcar; Van der Vaart; Pavlyuchenko.
Facts • Man United are the only unbeaten team in the league.
• Spurs have lost just once away from White Hart Lane this season.
• United have 18 victories and lost none of their last 22 league matches against Spurs.
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Second leg:
Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm
Know before you go
Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Sunday's fixtures
Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
