London, England (CNN) England striker Wayne Rooney apologized to fans Friday for the way his contract dispute with Manchester United played out in October.

Weve seen many players leave the club and not do so well, so I am delighted I have stayed, he said on the teams website. I apologize (to the fans) for my side of things.

Rooney said in October he wanted to leave the English Premier League team after complaining it lacked ambition, something manager Alex Ferguson said left him shocked and disappointed.

The stars original deal was due to run out at the end of next season, and his agent had told United in the summer that Rooney wanted to leave the club he joined from Everton in 2004. He was linked with a January transfer window move to arch-rivals Manchester City.

Rooney changed his mind a day later, however, after talks with Ferguson, club chief executive David Gill, and Rooneys representatives. He signed a deal keeping at Manchester United until at least June 2015.

Everyone is saying I was definitely going to join Manchester City, Rooney said Friday. Believe me, if Id have gone, it wouldnt have been to another club in England.

Wednesday night, Rooney celebrated his first start in two months by scoring the only goal of the game against Glasgow Rangers in the European Champions League.

Rooney said it was such a great feeling, after a hard couple of months, but that criticism of his performances has been a bit overboard.