The reasons for Wayne Rooney's China snub have been revealed by The Guardian.

Manchester United captain Rooney was recently the subject of a big-money offer from Beijing Guoan, who had met with the player's representatives.

However, a fact-finding mission by Rooney's camp last spring has forced the 31-year-old to completely dismiss the possibility of heading to the Far East.

It is understood that Rooney has not heard anything appealing about the Chinese Super League and has discovered that the 'pitches are appalling', 'the standard as bad as everyone thought' and 'the referees even worse'.

The integrity of the competition was also questioned by 'tales of match-fixing and bribery'.

Even though he is approaching the twilight of his glittering career, Rooney is not keen to take such a monumental step down having performed consistently in England's top flight for all of his playing days.