Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Come on you er, Redskins.. Roo agrees Washington move to join its other ‘football’ team, DC United
WAYNE Rooney is set to swap rainy Wilmslow for sunny Washington in a move that will thrill US soccer. The Manchester United legend, 32, now at Everton, has agreed to sign a £300,000-a-week deal with DC United in America’s Major League Soccer.
It is thought he has been offered a contract to the end of the 2020 season. While not home to The Reds, the US capital does boast The Redskins... of American Football fame.
It is not yet known whether Roo’s wife Colleen and his three sons will also move to the US. If they do, nearby Maryland, the state with the most millionaires in America, is said to be the obvious place to buy a home.
And in Washington itself there will be lots of home comforts to put Roo at ease.
Vince Terlep, managing partner of the British pub Elephant and Castle, said: “We know Wayne likes a drink and he’d be welcome here any time. We are as traditional as fish and chips. There’ll be a pint of Fuller’s waiting for him.”
American-based Brit Pat Finn, 42, described Roo’s transfer as “the biggest signing” in MLS history – outgunning David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard’s stints at LA Galaxy.
He said: “There is no more proven goal scorer than Rooney. Beckham and Gerrard put bums on seats but from a club’s point of view its all about goals.”
DC United won six titles in the early years of MLS but recently triumphs have been harder to come by.