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Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English former professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Rooney is considered one of the greatest players in Premier League history, having won five league titles and remaining the only player to have recorded both 200 goals and 100 assists in the competition. He spent most of his playing career as a forward but was also used in various midfield roles. He is Manchester United's top goalscorer of all time with 253 goals and was the all-time English top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League (34) from 2011 to 2024. Rooney was named the FIFPRO Young Player of the Year in 2004–05, selected in the ESM Team of the Season for 2009–10, and included in the 2011 FIFA FIFPRO World XI. In 2025, Goal named him one of the best players never to have won the Ballon d'Or; his highest finish was 5th place in 2011.

After emerging as one of England's top young talents at Everton, Rooney later joined Manchester United in 2004 for £25.6 million. He was named the PFA Young Player of the Year in his debut season before being voted the PFA Fans' Player of the Year in 2005–06 at 20 years old. He was a key figure as United won three consecutive Premier League titles from 2006–07 to 2008–09 and reached three Champions League finals in 2008, 2009, and 2011, winning the 2008 title. Rooney also scored the winning goal in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup final and was awarded the Golden Ball. After having his most prolific season to that point in 2009–10, he won the PFA Players' Player of the Year. Rooney helped United reclaim the Premier League title in 2010–11 and won his fifth and final league title in 2012–13.

In total, Rooney won 16 trophies with United and became one of only two English players, alongside teammate Michael Carrick, to win the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, League Cup, UEFA Europa League, and FIFA Club World Cup. He won the BBC Goal of the Season on three occasions, and his February 2011 bicycle kick against city rivals Manchester City won the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards Best Goal award. In 2017, he returned to Everton before departing to Major League Soccer club D.C. United a season later. In 2020, he moved to Derby County. After a season and a half at Derby, he retired in January 2021.

Rooney made his senior international debut for England in February 2003, aged 17, and is England's youngest-ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship, and was named in its Team of the Tournament. Rooney later featured at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and was widely regarded as his country's best player. He 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 third-most-capped player (behind Peter Shilton and Harry Kane), and was the record goalscorer from 2015 to 2023, currently ranking second.

Early life

Wayne Mark Rooney was born in the Croxteth area of Liverpool on 24 October 1985, the son of Jeanette Marie (née Morrey) and Thomas Wayne Rooney. He is of Irish descent through his father and is a Catholic Christian. Rooney revealed in the 2026 documentary series The Real Rooneys that he had recently discovered Polish-Jewish ancestry through his maternal grandmother; his mother Jeanette told him his great-grandmother, whose surname is believed to be Greenburg or Greenberg, had fled Poland for Liverpool. The revelation coincided with a family trip to Kraków and Auschwitz, prompted by his son Kit's study of the Second World War at school. Before becoming successful in professional football, he considered becoming a priest.

Rooney has two younger brothers, Graham and John. He and his brothers attended Our Lady and St Swithin's Primary School and De La Salle School. John also later became a footballer. Rooney grew up supporting Everton. He admired Brazilian striker Ronaldo, with Rooney stating that "as an out-and-out forward [Ronaldo] was probably the best".

Youth squads

Rooney began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and scored 72 goals in one season, a record which stood until May 2010. At the age of nine, Rooney played for Copplehouse boys' club in the local Walton and Kirkdale junior league and scored 99 goals in his final season before being spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton. Rooney joined Everton at age nine, and was the Everton mascot for the Merseyside derby against Liverpool as an 11-year-old. In the 1995–96 season, he scored 114 goals in 29 games for Everton's under-10s and 11s, and by the age of 15, he was playing for the under-19s. He scored eight goals in eight games during Everton's run to the FA Youth Cup Final in 2002. In the final defeat against Aston Villa, he scored one goal and, upon scoring, revealed a T-shirt that read, "Once a Blue, always a Blue." Rooney was included in Everton's first team squad for their training camp in Austria in the summer of 2002 and scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 friendly victory over SC Weiz on 15 July.

First team breakthrough

Rooney was an unused substitute in Everton's 1–0 away win over Southampton on 20 April 2002. He made his senior debut on 17 August in a 2–2 home draw against Tottenham Hotspur, starting the match and assisting the first goal by Mark Pembridge. He became the second-youngest first-team player in Everton history behind Joe Royle. In that match, he was booed by the Tottenham fans who shouted "Who are ya?" whenever he touched the ball. His first senior goals came on 2 October when he scored twice in a 3–0 away win over Wrexham in the second round of the League Cup. These goals meant that Rooney was Everton's youngest-ever goalscorer at the time.

On 19 October, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal. The goal ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, and also made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed by James Milner and James Vaughan, and in 2026 by Max Dowman in a match against Moyes's Everton. He scored in a 1–0 away win over Leeds United 15 days later.

In December, Rooney was named 2002's BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Six days after claiming the award he scored the winning goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 2–1 home win. His first career red card came on Boxing Day in a 1–1 away draw against Birmingham City for a late challenge on Steve Vickers. In January 2003, Rooney signed his first professional contract, which made him one of world football's highest-paid teenagers. Rooney's first goal of 2003 came on 23 March, netting Everton's only goal in a 2–1 loss at Arsenal. In April, he scored a goal in Everton's 2–1 home win over Newcastle United, before hitting a last-minute winner against Aston Villa in another 2–1 home win. He ended his debut season with eight goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees.

Rooney scored his first goal of the 2003–04 season in a 2–2 away draw against Charlton Athletic on 26 August 2003. He did not find the net again until December when he scored in a 2–1 away win over Portsmouth, and a 3–2 home win over Leicester City. His final goal of 2003 came on his 50th league appearance, netting in a 1–0 home win over Birmingham City on 28 December. On 21 February 2004, Rooney scored two goals in a Premier League game for the first time in a 3–3 away draw against Southampton. He scored the sole goal in a 1–0 win over Portsmouth on 13 March, before scoring in a 1–1 away draw against Leicester City one week later. He scored his final goal of the season in a 1–1 away draw against Leeds United on 13 April.

Manchester United

2004–2007: Adapting to the Red Devils

In July 2004, Everton offered Rooney a new five-year contract valued at £50,000 per week, the most lucrative ever offered by the club. Amidst…