Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene with Everton at 16. Two decades later, the striker retired having won almost every accolade on offer. He is now struggling to make his way in management.

The player caught the world's attention with a last-minute, long-range goal against Arsenal. His strike showed control and power way beyond Rooney's years and announced him as a precocious talent.

Rooney made his England debut at the age of 17 and lit up EURO 2004 with the Three Lions, showing outrageous skill.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United came calling for Rooney, signing him for £25.6million in August 2004 - a record for a teenage player at the time.

Rooney collected trophies by the hatful for United including the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

With 253 goals in all competitions, Rooney is Man Utd's all-time record goalscorer, comfortably surpassing Denis Law and George Best.

Rooney made an emotional playing return to Everton in 2017 before joining MLS side DC United, and then Derby County in controversial circumstances via a sponsorship with online casino 32Red.

After a spell as interim Derby manager, Rooney was named permanent manager in January 2021, as he dragged the club away from the Championship relegation zone.

The following season he was unable to keep Derby in the division, especially after a 21 point deduction due to historical financial mismanagement, and resigned in June 2022.

In July 2022, he was appointed head coach of DC United, a club where he was named MVP and golden boot winner during his playing days.

But he left Washington in October 2023 after their hopes of making the Major League Soccer play-offs ended.

A week later the former England skipper replaced the sacked John Eustace at Birmingham City on a three-and-a-half year deal.

But after overseeing just two wins in 15 games Rooney was sacked by Birmingham at the start of January 2024.

In May 2024, Rooney signed a three-year deal to become head coach at Plymouth Argyle in the Championship.

 

The Everton years

"Once a blue, always a blue" read Wayne Rooney's T-shirt, uncovered in celebration, after scoring in the FA Youth Cup final against Aston Villa.

The story of this Everton mad kid is one of love and loss and love and hate after Rooney crossed the Liverpool/Manchester divide to sign for Man Utd.

Rooney had announced his Premier League arrival in audacious style with an unstoppable goal for Everton against Arsenal in 2002. "Remember the name: Wayne Rooney," uttered the commentator as the 16-year-old substitute swept home from 25 yards past David Seaman.

Landmarks came thick and fast for Rooney, being named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in December 2002 and signing his first professional contract in January 2003, making him one of the world's highest paid teenagers.

But it was clear the ambitious Rooney wouldn't stay at Goodison Park long as Rooney himself remembers. "At the time, at 16, I remember looking around the Everton first team and knowing I was the best player. I felt that. I knew deep down that for me to further my career I would have to go somewhere else."

That meant a move to Man Utd which caused years of bitter recriminations from Everton fans upset at the apparent betrayal.

Rooney rebuilt bridges after returning to Goodison Park in July 2017. His celebration after scoring his first Everton goal in 13 years and five months was a sight to behold after he netted a header against Stoke City in August 2017.

 

Career at Manchester United

Man Utd was the perfect destination for ambitious 18-year-old Wayne Rooney in 2004.

Sir Alex Ferguson made Rooney his top target, paying £25.6million for the striker, a record fee for a player under the age of 20.

He scored a hat-trick in his debut for Man Utd, in a 6-2 Champions League demolition of Turkish club Fenerbahce, becoming the youngest player to score a trio of goals in the illustrious UEFA competition.

In a classic building season for Man Utd, where the Red Devils finished third in the Premier League, Rooney top-scored for the Old Trafford side by notching 17 in all competitions. He was honoured with the PFA Young Player of the Year award for 2004/05.

An impetuous teenager, Rooney struggled with his temper at times as was the case versus Villareal in September 2005 when he was sent off for a sarcastic clap at referee Kim Milton Nielsen.

Nothing would stop Rooney scoring goals, however, and he registered a brace versus Wigan Athletic in the 2006 League Cup final in a man of the match showing.

United won 4-0 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, earning Rooney his first trophy. The Red Devils engaged in a ding-dong battle with Chelsea for the Premier League but finished second to the Stamford Bridge club.

Second is not a position that sits well with Sir Alex Ferguson nor the competitive Rooney so Man Utd went all out to claim Premier League glory in 2006/07.

Alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney lit up the Premier League with the pair finishing on 23 goals each as United took the league title from Chelsea.

The 2007/08 season saw Rooney really hit the big time by pairing a Premier League title with victory in the Champions League.

Wearing the number ten shirt, Rooney battled injury and fatigue over a long season to see off Chelsea in both the Premier League and Champions League final to gain a superb double.

Rooney achieved what he had come to Man Utd to do in 2008/09 and that was to win multiple trophies.

The Red Devils won their third Premier League in a row, took the League Cup by beating Spurs and only narrowly lost out to Barcelona in the Champions League final. The FIFA Club World Cup was also scooped in Japan.

Although an unsuccessful season by Man Utd's standards, 2009/10 was a stellar goalscoring year for Rooney, banging in 34 goals and being named 2010 Player's Player of the Year.

Despite winning further Premier Leagues together in 2010/11 and 2012/13, Wayne Rooney's relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson was rocky, resulting in the striker submitting a pair of transfer requests.

Wayne Rooney's glory years were effectively over after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 as the Old Trafford club entered a long period of transition.

In 2017 before he squared the circle by returning to Everton, Rooney broke the all-time scoring record for Man Utd, hitting his 250th goal versus Stoke City.

In good and bad times, Rooney proved a consistent class act for Man Utd, achieving his own ambitions and providing good value to the legendary manager that brought him there.

 

The DC United love affair

In 2018, a move to Washington in the USA provided Rooney with the refresher his career needed as he linked up with DC United of Major League Soccer. He signed a three-and-a-half-year deal in the US capital.

The then-32-year-old Rooney chose Washington to settle in as Los Angeles and New York were too "hectic" for his young family.

The move to DC United proved to be a successful one for Rooney, being named at the end of the season as the MVP and Golden Boot winner for DC United, having scored 12 goals in 21 matches.

In August 2018, Rooney had hit the headlines with a sensational last-ditch tackle after tracking back to protect his goalkeeper who had been caught upfield against Orlando.

Rooney dispossessed the attacker and sent a plum 40-yard cross for Luciano Acosta to head home.

Rooney registered his 300th career goal at club level versus Houston Dynamo in 2019. Rooney signed off in the MLS with a 5-1 defeat in the Playoffs against Toronto FC.

Ben Olson, DC United coach said that Rooney "gave a lot to the organisation. He was a great teammate".

Rooney returned to the club in July 2022 as head coach, but his time in charge was brief and he left the club on October 8, 2023 after their hopes of making the Major League Soccer play-offs ended.

 

On Wednesday, October 11, Rooney was confirmed as Birmingham City's new boss on a three-and-a-half year deal. replacing the sacked John Eustace.

The former England striker signed a three-and-a-half-year contract at St Andrew’s and, headed into the role with a 27 per cent win rate across his first two jobs with Derby and DC United. But that figure was about to get even worse.

Birmingham were lying sixth in the Championship table after Eustace had been surprisingly sacked.

Rooney spoke of the goal of promotion, but defeat in his first match, 1-0 at Middlesbrough, set the tone and another 14 games later he was sacked on January 2, 2024 with the team languishing in 20th place.

The Blues registered victories in only two of Rooney’s 15 matches, with nine losses, for a win percentage of 13.3.

That gave him an overall managerial record of 40 wins from 154 games (26 per cent), with 40 draws and 74 defeats.

 

On May 26, 2024, Rooney has returned to management with Championship side Plymouth on a three-year deal.

Rooney said: “Taking this role at Plymouth Argyle feels like the perfect next step in my career – and I would like to thank the chairman and board for the faith they have shown in me.

“This is an opportunity to be part of an exciting project. I look forward to helping to build a squad of players to play expansive football – and to entertain the Green Army.

“I have experienced first-hand how talented the existing group of players is here – and also the incredible atmosphere at Home Park. The club is on an exciting long-term journey, with a progressive plan in place. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of it."

Plymouth chairman Simon Hallett said: “Throughout the interview process, Wayne showed himself to be a passionate, intelligent, and knowledgeable candidate with an appetite to prove himself and develop his managerial career.

“So much so, that he reached out to the board when we started this process and was attracted by the project at hand and showed a real plan on how to lead the football club forward.

“His ambitions and aims match ours perfectly and we feel he is the perfect candidate to provide the exciting and attacking brand of football that we all like to see and help us achieve the club’s mission.

“We look forward to another exciting season of Championship football, and I welcome him to Argyle.”

 

International career with England

Wayne Rooney provided just the world-class talent that the England team needed as he burst onto the scene in 2013, making his debut against Australia.

At 17 years, 3 months and 19 days old, a baby-faced Rooney became the youngest senior player in Three Lions history.

He went on to be the breakout star of EURO 2004 in Portugal with manager Sven Goran Eriksson saying: "I don't remember anyone making such an impact since Pele in the 1958 World Cup."

Rooney's England World Cup 2006 campaign ended badly after being sent off in the quarter-finals against Portugal for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.

Rooney's United team-mate Ronaldo was seen cheekily winking to the Portuguese bench after his dismissal - an action which enraged supporters back in England.

Sadly, Rooney drew further controversy following a 0-0 draw with Algeria in World Cup 2010. "Nice to see your home fans boo you. That's what loyal support is," said Rooney to the TV camera. England went out in the second round.

The so-called "Golden Generation" that Rooney was a part of never translated into a top tournament win and he announced his international retirement in August 2017. He bowed out as England's all time leading goalscorer with 53 goals.

His England goalscoring record was finally broken in March 2023, as Harry Kane tucked home his 54th international goal from the spot in a Euro 2024 qualifying win in Naples.

 

Personal life

Family has played a huge part in Wayne Rooney's life, growing up in a passionate footballing household with father Thomas, mother Jeanette and brothers Graeme and John.

He married childhood sweetheart Coleen in June 2008. The couple have four sons: Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass.

Wayne Rooney has his own charitable foundation, the Wayne Rooney Foundation. The Foundation raises money for the NSPCC, Claire House Children's Hospice, Alder Hey Children's Hospital and Manchester United Foundation.

The testimonial match for Wayne Rooney in August 2016 between Manchester United and Everton raised over £1million for the Foundation's chosen charities.

In 2004, Rooney caused controversy after admitting having sex with prostitutes.

On the matter, he stated: "Foolish as it now seems, I did on occasions visit massage parlours and prostitutes. It was at a time when I was very young and immature and before I had settled down with Coleen. I now regret it deeply and hope people may understand it was the sort of mistake you make when you are young and stupid."

 

Net worth

Thanks to various sponsorship deals, endorsements and investments Wayne Rooney was said to have a net worth of $136million by goal.com in 2020.