They won't sing Bale, they won't sign Ronaldo, they won't sign Farbregas, and they won't sign Messi.
This is all an orchestrated plan by them to maintain the illusion that they still have the same pull for the World's best players that they did when Ferguson was in charge.
The facts here, despite all the fabricated, Sky-sponsored Bale and Ronaldo bullshit, are that they have bid for three players so far - Baines (which was rejected by Everton), Thiago (which they spent some time trying to get a bargain on, before the player jumped at Bayern as soon as they firmed up their interest) and Fabregas (which was pitched too low so it wouldn't be accepted, and which neither the player nor Barcelona were interested in anyway).
This is a testing time for the Rags, as they need their Shareholders on the New York Stock Exchange to keep the faith with them, and not sell en masse to invest elsewhere - this is what the Glazers care about above all else, and this is what the Glazer appointed Chairman Ed Woodward is trying his best to ensure.
They will most likely sign Baines and Fellaini, who are very good players and will address areas of their team which need addressing, thus making them stronger - but no-one over in New York will have the first clue who those two are. They will, however, know exactly who Rooney is, and that he wants to leave. Consequently the Rags are putting it about through their favoured channels that they are in for all these super names, whilst trying to bring in the players they actually want.
They're so transparent at the moment its getting embarrassing, but people need to ignore the Sky reports and Daily Fail articles, and look at what's actually going on at the Rags so far this summer - that will tell you all you need to know.