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Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney
(born
24 October
1985 in
Liverpool) is an
English
footballer who
currently plays for the English
Premier League club
Manchester United
and the
England national
team. He is seen as one of the most exciting prospects of the modern game , his
transfer fee from Everton still stands as the highest ever paid for a teenager.
He normally played as a second
striker to
Ruud van Nistelrooy
for his club team before van Nistelrooy's move to
Real Madrid,
although during
2005-06, he showed
his versatility as a player by shifting to the midfield and playing on both
flanks. He wears the number 8 shirt for Manchester United and the number 9 shirt
for the English national team.
Rooney was brought up in an urban area of eastern
Liverpool called
Croxteth, where he
and his two brothers attended the local De La Salle Catholic School.
Rooney grew up supporting
Everton and his
childhood hero was
Duncan Ferguson,
and wore a T-shirt reading "Once a blue, Always a blue".[1]
However, he would end up playing just two seasons with Everton before demanding,
and then executing, a transfer. This has left him on unfavourable terms with
Everton fans, as they showed when he returned to Goodison Park and he was booed
severely.[2]
Rooney has been under an
intense media spotlight since first arriving on the scene in 2002, particularly
coming to the public's notice on
19 October
2002 when he scored
a memorable goal against title-holders
Arsenal, ending
their 30-match unbeaten run. Receiving the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box,
Rooney brought it down with instant control and turned away from his marker
before firing it into the top left-hand corner of the goal, beating England
keeper
David Seaman and
giving Everton a late 2-1 victory at Goodison Park.[3]
This goal provoked
Clive Tyldesley,
the match commentator, to exclaim 'remember the name, Wayne Rooney!'.
Rooney was only 16 years old when he scored the goal, making him the youngest
ever goalscorer in the Premiership at the time. Rooney gained a huge reputation
on the world stage due to his performance at
Euro 2004, as he
spearheaded the English attack, scoring four goals, eclipsing fellow England
team mate Michael Owen.
Career
Everton
After excelling for
Liverpool Schoolboys and The Dynamo Brownwings, Rooney was signed by Everton
shortly before his 11th birthday.[4]
Rooney gained national prominence on the 19th of October 2002 when he became the
youngest goal scorer in the history of the
Premier League at
16 years and 360 days while playing for
Everton (though
this record has since been surpassed twice by
James Milner and
current record holder
James Vaughan). His
goal against then-champions
Arsenal was a
last-minute winner and brought to an end the London side's 30-match unbeaten
run.[5]
At the end of 2002 he won the
BBC Sports Young Personality
of the Year.
Transfer
Before turning 17 and
becoming eligible for a professional contract, he was playing for
£80 a week and
living with his family on a
council estate. His
salary has since been increased several times and Rooney now earns an estimated
£51,755 a week. Following intense media coverage of Rooney at
Euro 2004, Everton
claimed that they would not transfer his contract for less than £50 million. The
club offered Rooney a new contract for £12,000 a week for three years. This,
however, was turned down by Rooney's agent on the
27 August
2004, leaving
Manchester United and
Newcastle United to
compete for his signature.
The Times
newspaper reported that Newcastle were close to signing the young star for £18.5
million, a fact later confirmed by Rooney's agent. Manchester United, however,
were the successful club in signing the young talent. Rooney handed in a
transfer request to Everton and on
31 August
2004, Rooney signed
for Manchester United after a
deal worth around
£31 million (£49 million including wages) was agreed. The deal was concluded
just hours before the
transfer deadline.
The initial fee of £23m was paid to Everton over
two years; the rest of the money depends on appearances and/or success at
Manchester United and/or England. It is likely the fee will reach the maximum
£31m within the next 3 years. A final fee in the region of £30m plus costs is
more likely. In the club's
2004-05 accounts,
Rooney's contract is recorded as having a book cost of £25.066 million as at
30 June
2005, with
contingent payables of £14 million, giving a maximum final fee of £39.066
million including costs.[6]
Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an
exclusively British deal, with only his Manchester United team-mate,
Rio Ferdinand,
commanding a
higher fee. Rooney
does, however, have the honour of being the most expensive teenage footballer
ever, being only 18 when Manchester United signed him.[7]
Manchester United
Rooney made his debut for
Manchester United on
28 September
2004 in the
UEFA Champions League
against
Fenerbahçe, scoring
a
hat-trick and also
an assist (the match finished in a 6-2 win for United).[8]
For the
2005-06 season,
Rooney initially started playing in wider positions than his more favoured
central role. Pundits and fans alike agreed that he seemed less effective in
such positions.[citation
needed] Eventually, after Manchester United's poor run of
form early in the season, Sir
Alex Ferguson moved
him back to his stronger position, playing behind Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy
as a second striker. He got his first professional Winners Medal in the 2006
English
League Cup. He was
also named
Man of the Match in
the League Cup final against
Wigan Athletic,
after scoring two goals in the final (a 4-0 victory for United), en route to
winning his first senior medal. He was also a member of the United side defeated
in the 2005
FA Cup Final by
Arsenal. He
captained Manchester United for the first time in a home Champions League match
against
Copenhagen on
17 October
2006, becoming
probably the youngest captain in the clubs' history.[9]
On
26 November
2006 he signed a
two-year extension to his contract, which will keep him at Old Trafford until at
least 2012; the contract extension negotiations only took one month, which was
interpreted as showing how keen both sides were to conclude the extension.
Rooney has been a prolific goal scorer for
Manchester United and Everton, matching the level of goals scored by other
strikers such as
Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Also, he is a regular assist contributor. In the 2005-2006 season he achieved a
final total of 14 assists and 16 goals, fewer goals than his current strike
partner
Louis Saha, but
more assists.[citation
needed]
During the first half of
the 2006-7 season, Rooney went 10 games without a goal before scoring a
hat-trick against
Bolton. There was
speculation[weasel words]
about his fitness and confidence on the pitch, as he seemed less active than he
usually is and his presence on the field was somewhat overshadowed by the
brilliant form of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney's scoring rate had
been matched by Louis Saha and exceeded by
Cristiano Ronaldo,
a winger. Nevertheless, as of February 2007 he was the top English goalscorer in
the Premiership, and had received significantly fewer bookings than in previous
seasons.[citation
needed] In the
FA Cup tie against
Portsmouth, Rooney
came on as a substitute and scored two goals, one of which was a 25-yard chip
over goalkeeper
David James, and
soon after scored two of
United's four goals
in the derby against Bolton. Rooney scored his first goal for two-and-a-half
years in Europe in a 2-1 defeat to
A.S. Roma on
4 April
2007 in the
quarter-final first leg of the
Champions League.
His scoring in the tournament continued in the quarter-final second leg against
Roma and the semi-final first leg on, when he scored two goals in the 3-2
victory over
A.C. Milan, the
second a low first-time drive into the bottom right-hand corner.[10]
By the end of April, Rooney had scored 23 goals for his team in all
competitions, taking him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in goals scored in all
competitions this season.
National team career
He has also figured
prominently in recent England international matches, after having become the
youngest ever player to play for England, in a friendly against
Australia, on
12 February
2003, aged 17
years, 111 days. This record has since been surpassed by
Theo Walcott, who
came off the bench to play in England's friendly against
Hungary on
30 May
2006. England's
youngest ever player previous to Rooney was
James F. M. Prinsep
of
Clapham Rovers,[1]
who made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries before, on
5 April
1879, aged 17
years, 253 days. Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317
days).
His reputation as one of
the world's most exciting young players was further enhanced by his highly
regarded performances for England at
Euro 2004 in
Portugal.[2][3]
At the tournament Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in the
UEFA European Football
Championships, when on
17 June
2004 he scored
twice against
Switzerland;
although the Swiss player,
Johan Vonlanthen,
broke this record against
France four days
later. Unfortunately Rooney was injured early in the quarter final match against
Portugal and
England were subsequently knocked out on penalties.
2004 Court Case
In and around 2002 there was a dispute between two
groups over who had the right to manage Rooney and this led to a criminal trial
after allegations that one side was trying to demand money with menaces from the
other. The court was told that one group sought the help of the infamous London
gangster
Tommy Adams in
resolving the dispute.
[4]
Disciplinary issues
Wayne Rooney's career has
been tainted with moments of ill-discipline.[11]
In September 2005, against Northern Ireland, Rooney launched an on-field
outburst at former England captain
David Beckham,[12]
but since then the pair have played down the bust-up.
His ill-discipline led to his dismissal in the 0-0
draw with
Villarreal during
United's Champions League encounter in Spain. Rooney was sent off for dissent
following his
sarcastic
applauding of the referee,
Kim Milton Nielsen,
after he was initially booked for what he felt was an unfair booking.[13]
Rooney has pledged to keep his temper under
control and both his club and international managers have defended him, citing
his youth as the main reason for his behaviour. It is known that other teams and
players are familiar with Rooney's disciplinary problems and sometimes use them
against him, teasing him or provoking him.[14]
Since the
2004-05 season he
has been trying to keep his temper in check, as shown by a drop in cards
received in the
2005-06 season. In
the 2006 World Cup quarter-final match with
Portugal, Rooney
was
sent off after an
incident during the 62nd minute of the match. He became only the third English
player to be given a
red card while
playing a match in a World Cup Finals. Rooney was struggling to gain proper
control of the ball as he was involved in a tangle with
Ricardo Carvalho
and
Petit, during which
he appeared to stamp on Carvalho's groin. The incident occurred right in front
of
Argentinian referee
Horacio Elizondo.
As play was stopped, Portuguese player
Cristiano Ronaldo,
a fellow teammate of his at Manchester United, remonstrated with the referee.
Rooney then pushed Ronaldo and was shown the red card for what was thought to be
a combination of the incidents involving Carvalho and Ronaldo.[15]
However, on
4 July, Elizondo
told
The Times that
the red card was due to the stamp on Carvalho, and not the scuffle afterwards.
He said "It was violent play and therefore he got a red card. People can say
what they want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence. For me it
was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players."[16]
After the match, which
England lost on penalties, the BBC pundit team, led by
Gary Lineker,
showed a clip of what they found interesting in light of Rooney's dismissal.
Before the match, Rooney's Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo
approached him from behind and aggressively placed his head close to Rooney
before speaking directly into his ear.[17]
Rooney's reaction and the look on Ronaldo's face suggested that the act was far
from playful. Following Rooney's dismissal, Ronaldo was seen winking at the
Portuguese bench.[17]
Cristiano Ronaldo said in a post-match press conference that he had not urged
the referee to take out a red card, but just pointed out that Rooney had
committed a foul.
On
3 July, Rooney
released a statement saying, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am
disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to
remember that on that particular occasion we were not team-mates." He also
claimed that his actions were accidental. He also defended his own actions in
the statement: "I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not
intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho. He slid in from behind me
and unfortunately ended up in a positioning where my foot was inevitably going
to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it. When the referee
produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked."[18]
Wayne Rooney was investigated by FIFA's
disciplinary committee after being sent off during England's World Cup
quarter-final defeat against Portugal, banned for two competitive matches and
fined 5,000
Swiss francs.[19]
Rooney was sent off again for Manchester United in
an
Amsterdam Tournament
game against
FC Porto on
4 August
2006 for the use of
an elbow,[20]
and was subsequently handed a three-match ban by the
FA following their
receipt of a 23-page report from referee Ruud Bossen explaining why he felt it
was necessary to send Rooney off in the aforementioned game.[21]
This was viewed as surprising, as other players sent off in pre-season friendly
matches were not so sanctioned, and Rooney wrote to the FA threatening to
withdraw the FA's permission to use his image rights if the ban was not revoked[citation
needed] - however the FA has no procedure to do so.[citation
needed]
Though not related to on-field action, there were
reports by British media that Rooney punched
Blackburn Rovers'
Michael Gray on
2 September
2006. The alleged
incident that happened inside a Manchester restaurant was a result of suggestive
comments by Gray towards Rooney's fiancée
Coleen McLoughlin.
Police were not informed about the incident.[22]
On
24 November
2006, Wayne Rooney
was questioned by the police over a fight outside a Manchester nightclub. This
supposedly happened when a photographer started hassling Rooney. The
photographer did not need any medical treatment.[citation
needed]
Personal life
Rooney is one of three sons of Wayne, Sr, and
Jeanette Rooney, his brothers being Graham and John[23].
He didn't achieve a single
GCSE.[24]
He has rarely been out of
the media spotlight since his goal against Arsenal in October 2002, and has
received criticism for his relationship with fiancée
Coleen McLoughlin,
who is often featured in the
tabloid press for
her shopping habits.[citation
needed] They currently live in a £4.25 million mansion in
the village of
Prestbury in
Cheshire.[citation
needed] When he moved to Manchester United and was told to
find a home in the posh area of Cheshire, Rooney passed a pub which he thought
was named "Admiral Rooney" and saw it as a good omen for his future home. It was
actually "Admiral
Rodney", but Rooney chose the place, Prestbury, anyway (kicker,
April 18,
2006, p. 79-80). He
also owns property in
Marbella and Harbor
Pointe,
Port Charlotte,
Florida[25].
Rooney has also lucrative
contracts with
Nike,
Nokia,
Ford,
Asda and
Coca Cola.[citation
needed] His marketing value is estimated at
€46 million, making
him the third-highest rated football player behind
Ronaldinho and
David Beckham.[citation
needed]Rooney appears on the cover of the
FIFA 06 and
FIFA 07
video game in the
United Kingdom[26]
and was featured on 500 million
Coca-Cola cans
during the 2006 World Cup. Regarding his private life, Rooney's favourite
rappers are
Eminem and
50 Cent.[citation
needed] His favourite film is
Grease, and his
favourite TV series is
Only Fools And Horses.[citation
needed] Moreover, he is an avid reader of the
Harry Potter
series. He enjoys boxing, and idolises
Mike Tyson. (kicker,
April 18,
2006, p. 79-80).
Rooney was "Merk'd" along with other England
teammates (the equivalent to the American TV Show "Punk'd") by his Manchester
United and England team mate,
Rio Ferdinand on a
mini-series TV show build up to the World Cup, "World Cup Wind Ups". This
comical scenario left Wayne holding a drip for a young Manchester United fan's
dog.[27]
In his spare time, Wayne likes to play
video games, his
favourite game is
FIFA 07, which he
plays with
Man United
teammates
Wes Brown,
John O'Shea and
Rio Ferdinand.[citation
needed]
Rooney's personal life has also often been marred
by accusations from the press surrounding his visits to
prostitutes, which
he later confirmed to be true. Rooney has spoken of his deep regret regarding
his actions.[28]
Press accusations
In April
2006, newspapers
suggested that he owed in excess of £700,000 in gambling debts,[29]
possibly connected to a business partner of
Michael Owen.[30]
Days later, he accepted £100,000 (which he donated to charity) in libel damages
from
The Sun and
News of the World
newspapers which had claimed he had assaulted his fiancée in a nightclub.[31]
In September 2006, Rooney
was again at a the centre of controversy, accused of punching
Michael Gray in the
eye following provocation from the Blackburn defender.
Books and website
On
9 March
2006, Rooney signed
the largest sports book deal in publishing history with the publishers
HarperCollins.[32]
He is to receive a £5 million advance, plus royalties, for a minimum of five
books to be published over a twelve-year period. The first book, My Story So
Far, a ghost-written autobiography, was scheduled to be published after the
World Cup. On
1 September
2006
Everton manager
David Moyes started
a libel action against the
Daily Mail,
which was publishing extracts of Rooney's book and threatened to also sue Rooney
and his book publishers over statements made in the book concerning the
circumstances of Rooney's leaving Everton.[33]
In July 2006, Rooney's lawyers went to the
United Nations'
World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) to gain ownership of the internet domain names
"waynerooney.com" and "waynerooney.co.uk", which Welsh television actor Huw
Marshall had registered in 2002.[34]
In October 2006, the WIPO ruled that "waynerooney.com" should be handed over to
Rooney.[35]
Honours
With Manchester
United (2004 - present)
Personal Honours:
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