Rooney has been in devastating form recently and maintained his incredible run by scoring a superb second for the Red Devils at Arsenal this afternoon.

But there has also been plenty of speculation about a possible move abroad for the 24-year-old, the trigger apparently being United's present financial situation.

As Cristiano Ronaldo was sold for £80million last summer and the Red Devils still only just made a profit, the fiercest critics of the Glazer family now believe Rooney will be the next to go.

But Gill insists those comments are wide of the mark and Rooney will be offered a new contract in the summer.

"We would hope Wayne would stay with us until he has finished playing," Gill told BBC Radio Five Live.

"He has a contract to 2012 and that will be addressed during the close season because we would want to put him on a new long-term contract.

"We have not got round to those discussions yet because Wayne is focusing on the football and the World Cup.

"But he is 24 and has his best years ahead of him.

"For obvious reasons, very few UK-based players want to leave Manchester United."

As Gill pointed out, no-one at United wanted Ronaldo to go either.

The truth of that matter was fairly simple.

"There was no appetite for Manchester United to sell Cristiano Ronaldo, from the owners or manager," said Gill.

"His contract expired in 2012 and we would have loved to give him another. But he said no.

"He had been with us for six years. He did a fantastic job and he chose to leave.

"There is no point in keeping an unhappy player. I am very confident in saying, unless Sir Alex agreed, we would not accept an offer for a player we wanted to keep, regardless of the value."

There have been various guesses at Ferguson's retirement date down the years but those same people who have questioned Rooney's future have wondered whether the Scot might be thinking of his own.

Even Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) officials were forced to distance themselves for a call for Ferguson to resign that was made at a recent meeting.

The United boss has already given clear indications that will not happen and Gill is confident the 68-year-old will be around for a good while yet.

"He is very motivated and enthused," said Gill.

"He is excited and I think he will be here for many years to come."