ROONEY’S SET FOR THE STATES
Everton star eyes £12m MLS payday in Washington
Wayne Rooney last night appeared to be closing in on a sensational move to Major League Soccer side DC United.
The everton star’s representative Paul Stretford has been in the US in recent weeks to discuss terms and Sportsmail understands talks have been described as positive.
It is believed a deal could be agreed that sees Rooney sign for DC United — based in Washington on america’s east coast — when the MLS transfer window opens on July 10. a contract, thought to be worth £12million running to the end of the 2020 MLS season, has been discussed with the Rooney camp.
The US club tried to sign him last summer when he left Manchester United but he decided to complete an emotional return to Goodison Park instead. DC United looked at bringing Robin van Persie Stateside in January and have remained in the hunt for a
marquee striker with global pull. That potential move is complicated by Rooney building a new £20million mansion in the Cheshire countryside for his young family with wife Coleen. But Steven Gerrard overcame such hurdles when he spent 16 months at LA Galaxy and Rooney is keen to explore doing similar. Rooney’s younger brother John played for New York Red Bulls in 2011 and Washington DC is approximately an eight-hour flight from England. Rooney has been made aware that Everton would not stand in his way over a transfer away as manager Sam Allardyce tries to raise funds for next season. Allardyce cannot guarantee the former England captain games. There are senior members of Everton’s hierarchy who would like Rooney to stay — including chairman Bill Kenwright, who stated as much during an address at the club’s annual awards last week. But owner Farhad Moshiri is believed to agree with Allardyce’s assessment of the situation. Everton are believed to pay Rooney £100,000 per week and would be expected to agree a golden goodbye to facilitate any move. The club would save a percentage of his remaining salary, worth in excess of £5m for the year, with Rooney’s new club making up the difference. United sorted a similar arrangement last summer and it is believed the Old Trafford club are still picking up a weekly tab of £200,000 as part of that deal. The 32-year-old had signed a contract worth £300,000 per week running to June 2019. Representations from China have also been made and some Premier League clubs would inevitably be interested in United’s all-time record goalscorer. Allardyce’s own future at Goodison Park is also up in the air with supporters having turned against the former England manager over the team’s playing style. Fans have repeatedly chanted for his removal at recent matches. But the 63-year-old signed a contract that runs until June 2019 and is privately said to have grown confident of remaining in charge due to their latest results. Rooney scored seven League goals before Allardyce took over in November, but last scored in December. Allardyce yesterday spoke about the Rooney situation on talkSPORT. ‘I’ve not had a problem from day one with Wayne,’ he said. ‘Wayne loves his football, he loves training, he wants to play and play well like everybody else.’