Wayne Rooney, then eighteen, was acquired by Manchester United on August 31, 2004, for a reported £27 million from Everton. After Rooney turned down a new deal at £50,000 a week, Newcastle United made Everton an offer of £20 million during the course of the month.
In addition, he submitted a request for a transfer out of Goodison Park. For a player under the age of 20, United had paid the highest transfer fee at the time. After Rooney’s success with Everton, Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of United, knew the kind of player he could develop into.
Before moving to United, the 16-year-old had made 77 appearances and scored 17 goals. After spending two seasons at Everton, where he proved himself as a teenager in one of the toughest leagues in Europe, Rooney is currently one of the most sought-after players in the continent.
In addition, he played a pivotal role for England at Euro 2004, matching new United teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four goals for the Netherlands. Maybe Ferguson was aware of Rooney’s potential at United? If he kept up his diligent work and growth.
Under Ferguson’s leadership, United reached the summit of European football for a second time in Ferguson’s career. The icon would play for 13 seasons and win every major award while at the team.
Rooney played 559 games for United in all, tallying 253 goals and 146 assists. Accordingly, he contributed a goal every 1.40 matches and offered a goal per 2.21 matches. Rooney contributed to 399 goals for United, a fantastic total for a player who actually filled a variety of roles in the team.
He performed the primary striking role. As a winger, attacking midfielder, and second striker as well. At the end of his career, he even filled the role of defensive midfielder. For the most part of his United tenure, Rooney gave it everything he had, keeping the team going and winning accolades. Rooney scored 53 goals in 12 games while playing for England.
During his debut campaign at United, Rooney shown his potential. Rooney earned his first hat-trick for the team on his UEFA Champions League debut against Fenerbahce. on 43 matches, he scored 17 goals and six assists, helping United defeat the Turkish team 6-2.
Rooney routinely scored in the neighbourhood of 20 goals per season and averaged 19.46 goals for the team. In two seasons (2009–10 and 2011–12), he led the team in goals scored with 34. In his last season (2016)–17, he scored a mere eight goals for the team.
He scored eight hat-tricks for United in all, demonstrating his ability by scoring four goals in a single game. Since it was his first at United, on his debut, and in the Champions League, his hat-trick against Fenerbahce will always hold particular significance.
In the Premier League, he also scored hat tricks twice against Portsmouth and once against Bolton Wanderers. However, there will be two more noteworthy ones: the one on April 2, 2011, against West Ham United, and the one on August 28, 2011, against Arsenal, in which United defeated the North London team 8-2.
Rooney was renowned for pushing the team’s winning mindset and winning trophies on a constant basis. A specific transfer request made by Rooney in the summer of 2010 might have changed everything.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester City were all mentioned in relation to Rooney. He declared that signing for City was never a possibility and that he would have preferred Barcelona to Real Madrid. The Madrid club, though, was the more likely destination.
Naturally, he stayed at United, signed a new number deal, and carried on with his career. Following his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that Rooney had submitted a transfer request once more.
Rooney’s previous Everton manager, David Moyes, would have to find a solution for it. Shortly after Jose Mourinho’s debut season at the team, Rooney was traded to Everton in the summer of 2017. Before joining DC United of the Major League Soccer in the United States, he played with his previous team until the 2017–18 season.
Rooney was trying to break the all-time record for goals scored at United set by the great Sir Bobby Charlton. In 758 games, he scored 249 goals for United. In January 2017, Rooney broke that record with his 250th goal. Before departing United, he scored three more goals for the team.
After scoring 49 goals in 106 matches, Rooney also surpassed Charlton’s record for England, with 53 goals in 120 games. In 2015, he broke the record. Along with his teammates, Rooney led United to numerous titles as a player who was driven by success.
Along with his will to win, his objectives were something that greatly aided United along the way. At United, Rooney won five Premier League championships. In addition, he won four FA Community Shields, three League Cups, one FA Cup, one UEFA Champions League (in which he participated in three finals), one UEFA Europa League, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Nemanja Vidic was replaced as United’s captain by Rooney in 2014, and he passed the reins to Michael Carrick in 2017. Harry Maguire, Antonio Valencia, and Ashley Young—all of whom have departed—have led the team since he left.
Although Rooney is no longer a prominent figure in United’s history, the club will always cherish his memories. Following United, Rooney returned to his childhood team, Everton, where he spent a season before joining the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States.
In 52 games, he scored 25 goals and provided 14 assists while playing for DC United. In 2019, Rooney went back to England and joined Derby County, a Championship team. He was able to join the team for the 2019–20 campaign.
After Phillip Cocu, who temporarily linked with Liam Rosenior, Shay Given, and Justin Walker before taking over as manager of Derby on November 14, 2020, Rooney took over 12 days later. Derby had a higher goal differential and finished 21st that season, surviving relegation by a single point.
Rooney knew that the 2021–2022 season would be difficult, and it turned out to be exactly that. Derby eventually finished 23rd in the Championship after being forced to drop to League One due to player shortages and difficulties assembling a team. Rooney departed the team on June 24, 2022.
With a deal that runs through the end of the 2023 season, Rooney relocated to Washington, DC, to manage the team. Before departing the team in October 2023 and going back to England to manage Birmingham City, he managed 53 games, winning 14 of them. This did not last long.
