Although United are understood to be prepared to dispense with Rooney this summer should the club receive an offer in excess of £20m for the 27-year-old, Ferguson claimed at his Friday press conference that the England striker will remain at the club next season.
"He will be here next year, you have my word on that," Ferguson said.
Despite Ferguson’s insistence that Rooney will not be sold, a stance which raises questions over whether United will be prepared to open contract talks with a player who enters the final two years of his current deal this summer, the Scot admits that he has no regrets over his decision not to select the player against Real.
With Ferguson citing Rooney’s fitness prior to that game as a contributory factor in his decision, the United manager chose Danny Welbeck ahead of the club’s highest-paid player to face Real.
“He (Rooney) understood the reasons completely,” Ferguson said. “Tactically we got it right. We don't always, but we did then.
"He understood the reasons for not playing him and that was completely tactical. And I think I was right.
“Danny Welbeck is the best player we have in terms of operating in a double role.
“We had to choke Xabi Alonso's ability to control the game, which Danny did, and that took away Alonso's control of the game and his ability to go further forward and be an attacking player. We don't always get it right, but we definitely did on Tuesday.
"I left out Shinji Kagawa after he scored a hat-trick last Saturday. I thought I would get more stick for that.”
Ferguson hit back at claims that he and Rooney have a strained relationship, however, by insisting that is not the case.
And he admitted that the former Everton teenager will be involved to play a role in Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Chelsea – but refused to reveal whether he would start.
"There are no issues with the player and he will be involved on Sunday,” Ferguson said. “There is no issue between myself and Wayne Rooney. To suggest we don't talk is absolute nonsense.
"But Wayne does need a lot of football. He has always been that type. That has always been the case."
Ferguson, meanwhile, spoke for the first time about the manner of United’s Champions League exit against Real, claiming that the performance of Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir tested his ‘faith’ in the game.
Cakir dismissed Nani for a second-half challenge on Real’s Alvaro Arbeloa – a moment which proved pivotal in the outcome of the game.
Ferguson said: “On the issue of the referee, quite simply it's hard to keep your faith in a game when you see what's happened in the last few years.
"That's the third time we've been knocked out by a referee's decision.
"It's not easy to take, but when you analyse it the cold light of day, you then realise, that for Manchester United, we just have to get on with it
"Nothing can be done about it now. It was just another day in the history of our club. Not a good day, but another day.
"My job now is to galvanise the troops, who were fantastic on Tuesday, and we owe the fans a really good performance on Sunday.
"We will get back up off our backsides and make sure we are ready for Sunday.
"It's a quarter-final tie, at home, and I always say that if you get that then you're happy.
“Hopefully we can navigate it, get to the semi-final and give ourselves a chance of winning the FA Cup."
Do you think what Ferguson is saying is true?
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