Paris St. Germain have approached Manchester United about the possibility of signing Wayne Rooney, according to reports.
Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed 10 days ago Rooney had handed in a second transfer request in three seasons.
Rooney, 27, was omitted from United's final two squads of the season, however his future has been the subject of conjecture since he was dropped for the club's Champions League second leg tie with Real Madrid in March.
Now L'Équipe say Ligue 1 champions PSG have finally made "direct contact" with United, who would likely demand at least £25 million for the forward. The report adds Rooney is interested in moving to the Parisian outfit.
PSG's interest was known some months ago, and their talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimović encouraged Rooney to join the capital club in April.
Rooney scored 16 goals for United this season
"I can understand why the owners are interested in Rooney - he is in the top 10 of strikers in Europe," Ibrahimović said.
Ferguson stressed after his final Old Trafford match United wanted to keep Rooney, however the likelihood is that it is a smokescreen, since an admission the club would be receptive to selling the striker would effect any potential transfer fee.
The Scot, whose replacement David Moyes managed Rooney for two seasons at Everton, has form for pledging to keep a player only to sanction their sale
Ferguson was effusive about Louis Saha's role at the club days before he was transferred to Everton in August 2008 and in December that year vowed he would not sell Real Madrid a virus, let alone Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese joined Madrid six months later.