How can one nation’s media get so much mileage from a news story about another nation’s footballer? Not satisfied with bombarding us all with details of his extra-marital antics over the last few weeks, this week we are subjected to speculation about his departure from Manchester United.

This isn’t just the rant of some soccer widow who has to tolerate her other half glued to the box for the best part of every weekend. No, I am, as you know, an avid soccer supporter.

But when a jumped up gurrier dominates every newspaper I pick up, every radio programme that I turn on and every news website that I log onto, then I start to wonder what’s wrong with this country.

I thought I was safe tuning into one of my favourite radio programmes this afternoon on the school run. Not so. So, I pondered the issue and then it struck me.

Last night I watched the main current affairs programme on our national TV station. No, Wayne Rooney didn’t feature. And yes the figures were of an even more staggering magnitude than his rumoured transfer fee. I refer of course to the 4 billion in cutbacks that is required this year in order to make some effort at repairing the damage that has been done to the economy. It’s a terrifying prospect.

And now I understand. This country is sticking its head in the sand. It’s attempting to ignore its fate. It can’t deal with the reality of its children having to pay off its debts into the far end of this century. It doesn’t want to think about the fact that the pensions it believed it would have are now worthless, that 1 in 20 of its mortages are now more than 90 days in arrears.

Will Rooney go to Chelsea for 20 million? It’s not as much as others would pay but then again Man U would rather he went to Chelsea than Man City, wouldn’t they? I reckon this story should keep us all occupied until at least next summer when his contract with Man U actually expires and he’s a free agent or perhaps just until after the 9th of December! Come on, like, he’s the world’s greatest footballer after all!