Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney
Rooney in a football kit
Rooney with D.C. United in 2018
Personal information
Full name Wayne Mark Rooney[1]
Date of birth (1985-10-24) 24 October 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward, midfielder[2]
Team information
Current team
 Plymouth Argyle (head coach)
Youth career
1996–2002 Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Everton 67 (15)
2004–2017 Manchester United 393 (183)
2017–2018 Everton 31 (10)
2018–2019 D.C. United 48 (23)
2020–2021 Derby County 30 (6)
Total 569 (237)
International career
2000–2001 England U15 4 (2)
2001–2002 England U17 12 (7)
2002 England U19 1 (0)
2003–2018 England 120 (53)
Managerial career
2020–2022 Derby County
2022–2023 D.C. United
2023–2024 Birmingham City
2024– Plymouth Argyle
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle. Widely considered one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest British players of all time,[3] Rooney is the record goalscorer for Manchester United, and was the record goalscorer for the England national team from 2015 to 2023. He has also made more appearances for England than any other outfield player.[4] Rooney spent most of his playing career as a forward, but was also used in various midfield roles.

Rooney joined the Everton youth team at the age of nine and made his professional debut for the club in 2002 at the age of 16. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club before moving to Man United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window, where he won 16 trophies and became one of only two English players, alongside teammate Michael Carrick, to win the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, League Cup, UEFA Europa League, and FIFA Club World Cup.[5][6][7] He scored 253 goals for United in all competitions, making him the club's top goalscorer of all time; his 183 Premier League goals for United is the third-most scored by a player in that competition for any single club, behind only Harry Kane (188 goals for Tottenham Hotspur) and Sergio Agüero (184 goals for Manchester City). Rooney's 208 Premier League goals make him the competition's third-highest scorer of all time, while he also holds the fourth-highest number of assists with 103.[8]

Rooney made his senior international debut for England in February 2003, aged 17, and is England's youngest-ever goalscorer.[9] He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. Rooney later featured at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and was widely regarded as his country's best player.[10][11] He has won the England Player of the Year award four times, in 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015. With 53 goals in 120 international caps, Rooney is England's second-most-capped player (behind Peter Shilton) and second-top goalscorer.

Rooney won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards for the 2009–10 season, and he has won the Premier League Player of the Month award five times throughout his career. He came fifth in the vote for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and he was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for 2011. He won the Goal of the Season award by the BBC's Match of the Day poll on three occasions, and his February 2011 bicycle kick against city rivals Manchester City won the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards Best Goal award.[12]

  1. ^ a b c "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: England" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Eye on England: Wayne Rooney is rewriting his legacy at Derby". The Score. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Wayne Rooney Has Been Named The Greatest British Player Of All Time". SPORTbible. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  4. ^ Fisher, Ryan (12 July 2017). "Wayne Rooney: The Best of His Generation". All Out Football. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Michael Carrick: Man Utd midfielder agrees new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 27 May 2017. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Wayne Rooney: Manchester United great or unfairly unloved?". BBC Sport. 9 July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Wayne Rooney news: I knew I would succeed at Man Utd". Goal.com. 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. ^ O'Keeffe, Greg (18 December 2017). "Everton 3–1 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Rooney sparks England win". BBC News. 6 September 2003. Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  10. ^ Wilson, Paul (8 October 2011). "Fabio Capello accepts he must take rough and smooth with Wayne Rooney". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  11. ^ McNulty, Phil (8 October 2011). "Reckless Rooney overshadows England's 2012 qualification". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Wayne Rooney wins Premier League Goal of the 20 Seasons award". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.