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Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool) is an English footballer, widely considered to be one of the leading young talents in world football – in September 2005 he was selected by his fellow professionals as the inaugural FIFPro World Young Player of the Year. He currently plays for Manchester United and the England national football team as a second striker, although the 2005-06 season has seen Rooney playing both centrally and on the left and right flanks. He wears the number 8 shirt for his club,and is generally given the number 9 for his country.

Rooney was brought up in a rough urban area of eastern Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended the local Christian Brothers De La Salle School.

Although he has been under an intense media spotlight since first arriving on the scene in 2002, it was not until his performances at the Euro 2004 that he gained a reputation on the world stage, as he spearheaded the English attack, scoring 4 goals. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson compared his impact to that made by the legendary Brazilian, Pelé, at a similar age during the 1958 World Cup. When Portugal's current coach Phil Scolari was asked to compare Pelé to Rooney, he replied 'One is black and one is white'.

Career

Premiership breakthrough

Rooney gained national prominence in October 2002 when he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Premiership at 16 years and 360 days while playing for Everton F.C. (though this record has since been surpassed twice). His spectacular goal against then-champions Arsenal was a last-minute winner. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Young Personality of the Year award.

England 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 February 12, 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 May 30, 2006. England's youngest ever player previous to Rooney was James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries before, on April 5, 1879, aged 17 years, 253 days.

Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317 days). In 2004, Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in the European Football Championships on 17 June 2004 when he scored twice against Switzerland; however the Swiss player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record against France four days later. However, Rooney was injured in the quarter finals against Portugal – England were subsequently knocked out. As of 2 March 2006, he has played for England 29 times and has scored 11 international goals.

His reputation as one of the world's most exciting young players was further enhanced by his impressive performances for England at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

World Cup 2006 doubts

There has been concern for Rooney's fitness ahead of the upcoming World Cup after the fourth metatarsal on his right foot was broken, possibly in several places, following a seemingly innocuous challenge from Paulo Ferreira during Manchester United's 3-0 defeat away at Chelsea on April 29, 2006, putting him out of action for six weeks.^[1]

A bone scan on 25 May 2006 suggested he would not be expected to return in time for the World Cup group ties, with a decision to be made on his return to training after these games had passed. Shortly afterwards his international manager confirmed he would travel with the squad to Germany, and would return to have another bone scan on 7 June. Ahead of this scan, Wayne claimed to be feeling fine and was "300% confident" of his own fitness. Rooney was reported to be back, doing light training on 2 June 2006, working on kicking the ball and running. ^[2]

On June 7, Wayne Rooney had his second scan, with reports saying he would play in the World Cup as he has recently boarded a flight to Baden-Baden to regroup with the England squad.^[3]

On June 8, Sven Goran Eriksson said: "he's injury free" and that he just needs to get back his fitness before he can play. Eriksson has hinted at a possible involvement in the later group stage matches and almost certainly, should England progress, in the second round of the competition.

Transfers

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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. That has since been raised several times and Rooney now earns an estimated £50,000 (€73,500 / $90,000) a week. Following intense media coverage of Rooney at the 2004 European Championships, Everton claimed that they would not transfer his contract for less than £50 million. The club offered Rooney a new contract for £27,000 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 rumours that Newcastle's initial bid was made at the request of Rooney's agent, who eventually made £1.5 million from the deal and employs the son of the Newcastle United chairman. This bid was intended to force Manchester United to try to buy the player a year earlier than they had planned. In any event, the Newcastle United bid succeeded in forcing Manchester United to enter the bidding. Rooney handed in a transfer request to Everton and on 31 August 2004 Rooney signed for Manchester United after a deal worth up to £27 million was agreed. The deal took place rapidly, and was concluded just hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £23m is to be paid directly to Everton Football Club over two years; the rest of the money depends on appearances and/or success at Manchester United and/or England. It is unlikely the fee will reach the maximum £27m due to the complex nature of the contract drawn up by the two clubs. A final fee in the region of £25m plus costs (mainly agents' fees) 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 £4 million, giving a maximum final fee of £29.066 million including costs. [1]

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.

Rooney made his début for the club 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). 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. 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 the Man of The Match in the Carling Cup final against Wigan Athletic, after scoring 2 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 on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup final by Arsenal F.C..

Disciplinary issues

Rooney is also known for his hot temper and ill-discipline on the pitch. In September 2005, against Northern Ireland Rooney launched an on-field outburst at England captain David Beckham, but since then, the pair have played down the bust-up.

His temper problems also came to the forefront in the 0-0 draw with Villarreal during United's Champions League encounter in Spain. Rooney was sent off for dissent after he sarcastically applauded the referee, Kim Milton Nielsen after he was initially booked.

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. 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.

Personal life

Rooney has rarely been out of the media spotlight since his emergence, and has received criticism for his relationship with fiancée Coleen McLoughlin, who is often featured in the tabloid press for her shopping habits.

Rooney's personal life has also often been marred by accusations from the press surrounding his visits to aging prostitutes, which he later unequivocally confirmed. ^[4]

In April 2006, newspapers suggested that he owed in excess of £700,000 in gambling debts,^[5] possibly connected to a business partner of Michael Owen.^[6] 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. ^[7]

Charity work

Rooney has often been involved in raising money for Claire House and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, and is also noted for his role as the FIFA/SOS ambassador for England. ^[8] As a member of the Manchester United side, he also takes part in charity and promotional work for UNICEF.

Publishing deal

On 9 March 2006 Rooney signed the largest sports book deal in publishing history with the publishers HarperCollins.^[9] 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, an autobiography, is scheduled to be published after the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Trivia

• Rooney's childhood football hero is former England and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer.
• The April 18, 2006 issue of the respected German soccer magazine Kicker featured an article about Rooney (p. 79 and 80), and following facts were presented:
  • Rooney has signed lucrative contracts with Nike, Nokia, Ford, Asda and Coca Cola. His marketing value is estimated at €46 million, making him the third-highest rated football player behind Ronaldinho and David Beckham. As a side note, he is featured on 500 million Coca-Cola cans.
  • Rooney's (yet to be published) autobiography earned him a record advance payment of €7.5 million.
  • 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 actually was "Admiral Rodney", but Rooney chose the place anyway.
  • His favourite foods are spaghetti, salad, sausages, eggs, chips and baked beans, and his favourite drink is Diet Coke.
  • Rooney's favourite musicians are rappers Eminem and Kanye West. His favourite film is Grease, and his favourite TV series is Only Fools And Horses. Moreover, he is an avid reader of Harry Potter.
  • He enjoys boxing, and idolises Mike Tyson.
• He also enjoys the Welsh band, the Stereophonics. ^{[citation needed]}
• Footballers' Wives character Callum Watson is based directly on Wayne Rooney. Elements of Rooney can also be found in characters Darius Fry and Harley Lawson.
• The Daily Mirror "Scorer" cartoon strip features a young, brash, anti-social character called Wayne Sutton, based in part on Rooney's on-field antics.
• Rooney has a cross tattoo on his upper arm

Quotes

"Wayne can be the best in the world in 2 years". Sir Alex Ferguson

"I'm not trying to unsettle him or tap him up, but Wayne Rooney is a player I like. It's true I may try to do a deal this summer." Arsène Wenger

"You go through all the greats at Manchester United and you've certainly got to put him in there." George Best