“I’m not a networker, and I’m a useless salesman,” says the earnestly self-deprecating Rodford, “but I’m a clear thinker, I’m brave and I’m not scared of getting things wrong.”

That helps. Last year Formation had its reputation dented when its founder, soccer super-agent Paul Stretford, was involved in a mud-slinging court case over how he signed up Rooney.

Stretford stepped down from Formation’s board after the case and is still the subject of an FA inquiry into Rooney’s signing. Full control of Formation, which looks after 200 top footballers, passed to Rodford, one-time managing director of Fulham Football Club and a former adviser to Kevin Keegan. He has since battled manfully to boost the beleaguered share price of the firm, formerly known as Pro-Active and listed on AIM.

Last week its share price was 7p — a fair reflection of the City’s doubts about the business of football at the moment. Ashley Cole’s “tapping-up”, Frank Arnesen’s switch to Chelsea, Harry Kewell’s court case with Gary Lineker. What’s going on? Where’s the transparency?

“Actually you cannot be more transparent than us,” says Rodford. “We report every six months and you can see exactly where our revenues come from.”

He smiles hesitantly. Sitting in his attic office at Formation’s base in Wilmslow — epicentre of Cheshire’s footballing fast set — Rodford is easy to misjudge. Slim, balding and shyly courteous, he seems an unlikely boss for a business milieu where the flashy is flaunted, and aggressive self-promotion is a given.

But he was hired by Stretford in 2001 to remodel Formation into an integrated European football business. That he has done in haste, snapping up other firms offering sports marketing, wealth management and associated professional services. Still only 35, Yeovil-born Rodford is one of the youngest empire builders in the market.

His aim, he says with a faint West of England burr, is to turn Formation into another IMG, the sports-marketing giant founded by the late Mark McCormack. “We looked at what they and Octagon have done in tennis and golf, and nobody has achieved that in football.”

Consequently, Rodford is now expanding Formation across northern Europe, moving into stadium-perimeter advertising and brand consultancy, offering big corporates a way in to building relationships with football and its stars.

In the process he is reducing the group’s reliance on player representation — now accounting for less than a third of profits. Formation is still small (£14m turnover) but growing fast.

“The brokers’ notes tell us 10% compounded organic growth, but we’re hoping that with acquisition we’ll be in the 20%-plus,” smiles Rodford.

In any other line of work, Formation would be a small-cap bargain for investors. Yet the reputation of football agenting still comes back to bite the business. Just look at the headlines generated by Arsenal’s spat with Chelsea over Ashley Cole — nothing to do with Formation (Cole’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, runs the rival Stellar group), but there’s enough negative publicity for all to share.