In a recent podcast, Rooney recalled an amusing incident from the 2004 transfer saga, revealing that Sir Bobby Robson mistakenly called him by his name on the phone, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
"I would have certainly went [to Newcastle]," Rooney revealed on his self-titled podcast The Wayne Rooney Show. "Manchester United wanted to wait a season and then sign me the year after they did sign me. Newcastle put a bid in and if Manchester United hadn't come in, I would have gone to Newcastle.
"Those two were bidding against each other. My agent's best mate was chairman at Newcastle at the time! So I'm sure he was getting nudged to try to get me as well. I wanted to go to Manchester United, but I spoke with Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer.
"In true Bobby Robson style, on the phone he called me 'Mark'. I thought he had either forgotten my name or he was a genius - because that's my middle name."
Ultimately, Man Utd would be very, very glad that they got the deal over the line ahead of Newcastle and didn't wait, as originally planned. Speaking at the time, revered former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I am very excited. I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years. Everyone is delighted by this signing."
That turned out to be a pretty accurate assessment, as the teenager blossomed into one of the finest players England has ever seen and became a club legend at Old Trafford, scoring 253 goals in 559 trophy-laden appearances for the club, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008 as a star-studded United side edged Chelsea on penalties.
Discussing his relationship with Ferguson, Rooney added: "I always remember the one thing he said and he said it a few times, is 'the hardest thing to do in life is work hard'. That stuck with me. Whatever job you're doing that can apply to anything really. I think in football we have talent, we have ability but sometimes we don't look at working hard every day. And you'd think that's, that's normal.
"You should do that if you, you played in a big club, but if some players actually you've seen them, they don't. And so that was the one thing which stuck with me."