Wayne Rooney

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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.

In Their Own Story

On 19 October 2002, 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. 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.

Reader's Guide

Rooney was born in the Croxteth area of Liverpool on 24 October 1985. He began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and scored 72 goals in one season. At age nine, he played for Copplehouse boys' club and scored 99 goals in his final season before being spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton. He 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. By age 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. He made his senior debut on 17 August 2002 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. His first senior goals came on 2 October 2002 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, ending Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run and making him the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at that time. He ended his debut season with eight goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees.

Did You Know?

• Rooney scored a hat-trick on his Manchester United debut in a 6–2 win over Fenerbahçe in the Champions League.
• He is Manchester United's all-time top goalscorer with 253 goals.
• Rooney is the only player to have recorded both 200 goals and 100 assists in the Premier League.
• He was England's youngest-ever goalscorer and briefly the youngest goalscorer in European Championship history.