Rooney signs £15m deal with US side DC United
Former England captain ends his stay at Everton MLS club hoping striker can revive past glories
As England move on to the knockout stage of a World Cup he once believed he would be leading them in as captain, Wayne Rooney left the Premier League to wind down his career in America with DC United.
Like David Beckham and Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy), Frank Lampard (New York City) and Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Rooney has decided, in his twilight years as a player, to accept the offer of a lucrative move to the MLS after just one season back at boyhood club Everton.
The 32-year-old will earn around £15 million over the course of the three-and-a-halfyear contract he has agreed with DC – a once dominant force who have, much like their new star, struggled to live up to former glories.
Rooney will be expected to reinvigorate DC, to become the famous face of a franchise in need of a spark, even though his own best years are behind him. DC, who last won the MLS Cup in 2004, are bottom of the Eastern Conference.
“It is fantastic to be joining DC United at such an exciting time in the club’s history, with the new stadium opening in just a few weeks,” said Rooney.
“Moving to America and MLS fulfils another career ambition for me. I have the hunger to be a success here and will give DC 100 per cent – as I have always done for every team I have ever played for.
“When I visited earlier this summer, I was impressed with everyone I met connected with the club, and of course the new Audi Field. Now I can’t wait to get on the pitch in a United shirt and join my new teammates to bring success to this club.”
Having announced his signing on social media with the hashtag Nowaynenopain, DC United’s general manager and chief executive, Jason Levien, said: “This is a seminal moment for our fans and organisation. Wayne is a global soccer icon and his presence will elevate our product on the pitch and soccer, as a whole, in our city and in this country. Wayne has thrived when competing at the most elite levels and we’re thrilled to have his leadership as we enter this new era.”
It was a difficult decision for Rooney to leave Everton, so soon after making an emotional return, but it is almost certainly the right one. In America, for all the advances made in the MLS, Rooney’s fading physical powers will not be so brutally exposed. In turn, we have been spared the discomfort of watching one of England’s former greats flailing against the ageing process. Had you asked Rooney this time last year what he would be doing this summer, he would probably have said playing for England in Russia, but he looked a spent force at that level long before Gareth Southgate eased him out. Rooney’s decline has been gradual but has accelerated in the last two years. Having slipped out of the first-team picture at Manchester United under Jose Mour- inho, he made a hero’s return to Everton last summer but managed just 11 goals in 40 appearances and rarely lasted 90 minutes towards the end of the season, even after dropping into a deeper playmaker role.
Sam Allardyce did not win many arguments during his brief spell as Everton manager but few disagreed with him when he pointed out that Rooney’s lack of athleticism was a problem compared to his desire to play every minute of every game.
‘Wayne is a global soccer icon and his presence will elevate our product on and off the pitch’
That is unlikely to be such an issue in the MLS, where his technical ability, as well as the less strenuous pace of the game, will mean he should still be able to shine.
DC have courted Rooney for months and the dilemma about whether to leave Everton was settled by the fact that he can earn more in the American capital than if he had stayed on Merseyside.
Rooney cannot officially sign un- til the MLS transfer window opens on July 10, with his first appearance for his new club likely to come four days later when DC officially open their new 20,000-capacity Audi Field Stadium.
For all the criticism that hounds a once great player who can no longer deliver what he once made look routine, Rooney remains one of England’s best. In his pomp, he was a rampaging force of nature, a striker capable of scoring spectacular goals as often as he got a tap-in, a talisman for club and country.
He leaves as the Premier League second-highest goalscorer, ahead of stellar names like Henry, Michael Owen, Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole. His 208 goals are only surpassed by another former England captain, Alan Shearer, who scored 260.
During his 13 years at Manchester United, after leaving Everton for £20million in 2004, Rooney won five league titles, three League Cups, an FA Cup, and the Champions League in 2008.
He also broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record during his time at Old Trafford, as well as his international goals tally, retiring from international football with 53 goals in 119 appearances for his country.