Rooney leaves United to rejoin Everton
Wayne Rooney rejoined boyhood club Everton after 13 years at Manchester United, leaving English soccer’s biggest club as its record scorer having won every major trophy.
The 31-year-old Rooney, the most recognized and scrutinized player in England, has been getting accustomed to a reduced status after losing his starting place in the United team and dropping out of the national team squad. A return to Everton, where he made his name as a dynamic teenager, signals a fresh start.
Rooney scored a record 253 goals for United after moving from Everton as an 18-year-old in 2004, winning the Premier League title five times, the FA Cup once, the League Cup three times, the Champions League once and the Europa League last season. He is also England’s all-time goal scorer with 53.
The Toronto Raptors made two trades, sending DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn for salary-cap relief and landing C.J. Miles in a sign-and-trade with Indiana for Cory Joseph, people with knowledge of the deals told the Associated Press. The Raptors agreed to the Carroll deal late Saturday night, then quickly moved to fill his spot as a shooter and wing defender with Miles on Sunday morning. Carroll has two years and $30 million left on his deal.
The Tour de France threw everything at Chris Froome: steep mountain ascents followed by daredevil descents at speeds exceeding 45 mph that wiped out other riders, the loss of his top teammate in a crash, a breakdown on his bike, and rivals who tried to make him crack with bursts of acceleration. But the most grueling, drama-filled day so far of this 104th Tour finished, yet again, with Froome still wearing the race leader’s yellow jersey. By surviving Stage 9 that put 12 riders out of the race, and left others bloodied and bandaged, the threetime champion took a big step toward a fourth victory in Paris on July 23.
With seven ascents that together amounted to 15,000 feet of climbing, this was the “monster stage” that Froome had predicted it would be. It separated genuine contenders for victory from simple pretenders. At the start Sunday, eight riders had been within a minute of Froome in the overall standings. Now, only three are. Among top names gone completely: Richie Porte and Froome’s teammate Geraint Thomas, who led the Tour for the first four days. Both crashed out. Porte, who had been fifth overall, fractured his pelvis and collarbone. Thomas broke his collarbone.
Italian Fabio Aru climbed to second in the race rankings — 18 seconds behind Froome.