Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as astriker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.
Aged 10, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and twoLeague Cups. He has also been awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and theFWA Footballer of the Year in 2009–10.
Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and, at UEFA Euro 2004, he briefly became the competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As of August 2010, he has won 65 international caps and scored 25 goals.
Here's a little taster of the Manchester United Striker
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wayne Mark Rooney | ||
| Date of birth | 24 October 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Croxteth, Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2002 | Everton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2004 | Everton | 67 | (15) |
| 2004– | Manchester United | 190 | (91) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003– | England | 65 | (25) |
Early life
Rooney was born in Croxteth, Liverpool to Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Marie Rooney (née Morrey). He is of Irish descent and was brought up Catholic in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John all three attended De La Salle School. He grew up supporting his local club Everton; his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson.
Club career
Everton
Rooney began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and at the age of 10 was signed on schoolboy terms by Everton F.C. After scoring in an FA Youth Cup match, he revealed a T-shirt under his jersey that read, "Once a Blue, always a Blue. Since he was under 17 at the time and therefore ineligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on one of the country's most deprived council estates.
On 19 October 2002, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a match-winning goal against reigning league champions Arsenal in addition to ending Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run,[ it made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice; first by James Milner and then by James Vaughan. He was named BBC Sports' 2002 Young Personality of the Year.
At the end of the 2003–04 season, citing Everton's inability to challenge for European competition (they had finished seventh the previous season and only just missed out on a UEFA Cup place, but in 2003–04, finishing in 17th place, had narrowly avoided relegation), Rooney requested a transfer that Everton refused to oblige unless the transfer fee was in excess of £50 million. A three-year, £12,000-a-week contract offer from the club was snubbed by Rooney's agent in August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete for his signature. The Times reported that Newcastle were close to signing Rooney for £18.5 million, as confirmed by Rooney's agent, but Manchester United ultimately won the bidding war and Rooney signed at the end of the month after a £25.6 million deal with Everton was reached.] It was the highest fee paid for a player aged under 20; Rooney was still only 18 years old when he left Everton.
Manchester United
Rooney made his United debut on 28 September 2004 in a 6–2 Champions League group stage win overFenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and laying on an assist. However, his first season at Old Trafford ended without winning a trophy as United could only manage a third place finish in the league (having been champions or runners-up on all but two previous occasions since 1992) and failed to progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League. United had more success in the cup competitions, but were edged out of the League Cup in the semi finals by a Chelsea side who also won the Premier League title that season, and a goalless draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup final was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat. However, Rooney was United's top league scorer that season with 11 goals, and was credited with the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
In September 2005, Rooney was sent off in a UEFA Champions League clash with Villarreal of Spain(which ended in a goalless draw) for sarcastically clapping the referee who had booked him for an unintentional foul on an opponent. His first trophy with United came in the 2006 League Cup, and he was also named man of the match after scoring twice in United's 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic in the final. In the Premier League, however, an erratic start to the season left title glory looking unlikely for United and their title hopes were ended in late April when they lost 3–0 at home to champions Chelsea and had to settle for second place. Rooney's goalscoring further improved in the 2005–06 season, as he managed 16 goals in 36 Premier League games.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other[52] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Everton | 2002–03 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 37 | 8 | |
| 2003–04 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 40 | 9 | ||
| Total | 67 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 77 | 17 | ||
| Manchester United | 2004–05 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 17 |
| 2005–06 | 36 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 19 | |
| 2006–07 | 35 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 23 | |
| 2007–08 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 18 | |
| 2008–09 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 49 | 20 | |
| 2009–10 | 32 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 34 | |
| 2010–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 190 | 91 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 54 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 284 | 131 | |
| Career total | 257 | 106 | 27 | 11 | 17 | 6 | 54 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 361 | 148 | |
WAYNE ROONEY
