Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has rubbished reports of Wayne Rooney's imminent departure.

Mourinho insists the 31-year-old is completely committed to the cause and will not be allowed to leave in January, despite being linked with moves to China and the MLS.

He said, “He's going nowhere. We like him, he likes us.

“He's not happy in the last matches because he was on the bench but I think he is even unhappier when he's not on the bench because he's been injured and has to stay in the stands.

“There are no problems at all. He's my captain. He is the team captain. He behaves like that."

Mourinho added: “I think he's a human being like everybody else. He has family, like everybody else.

“He has kids, the oldest one at an age where he can read, he can feel, he gets affected by that. It's just human nature but I think he's a big boy, a big character. He copes with the situation.

“In all my career I have had just a couple of players, they didn't want to play and sometimes they wanted to hide when things got hotter.

“Apart from that, every player wants to play. I don't know any player who is happy when he doesn't play."