Spanish giants Barcelona are set to table an astonishing £85million bid to secure the services of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

According to the News of the World, the Spanish treble winners are ready to smash the world transfer record fee in their attempts to prise Wayne Rooney away from Old Trafford.

The Catalans have pin-pointed ‘Wazza’ as a much-needed addition to their star-studded squad which already boasts the likes of 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year favourite Lionel Messi, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

Having already sold Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for a staggering £80million to Real Madrid in the summer, United may find Barcelona’s £85million offer too tempting to resist as the club continue to struggle with their large debt.

But unlike Ronaldo who had his heart set on a dream-move to the Spanish capital, Rooney has already expressed his desire to stay at the Theatre of Dreams, more so now because of the birth of his new son Kai Wayne Rooney.

“I have always said I would love to end my career at this club," the former Everton ace told MUTV just this week.

However Barcelona remain persistent and are willing to better Real Madrid's capture of Cristiano Ronaldo in order to capture the 24-year-old's services as Pep Guardiola seeks to consolidate the Spanish champions' dominance in La Liga and Europe.

Rooney has been in scintillating form this season having netted an impressive eight goals in 13 appaearnaces.

The prospect of seeing a fab four of Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry and Rooney, with Iniesta and Xavi in support truly gets us at ExtraFootie excited.

What do you think? Should Wayne Rooney follow in Gary Linekar’s footsteps and jettison to the Nou Camp, or should he play out his days at Old Trafford? Leave us your comments below.