Profile of Wayne Mark Rooney on Famous Like Me

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is 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 striker. 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 suburb of eastern Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended De La Salle School.

As a player, Rooney is noted not only for the deft touch and pace, but also for his strength and physical presence which are more usually the hallmarks of more mature players. While constantly surrounded by national media hype and observation since first bursting onto 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. Other commentators have compared him to Manchester United legend Eric Cantona.

He is currently the youngest player ever to play for the senior England team, making his debut on February 12, 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days. England's youngest ever player previous to this 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).

Career

Premiership breakthrough

Rooney first 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 of age, while playing for Everton. His spectacular goal was a last-minute winner against the then-League champions Arsenal that consigned them to their first league defeat in almost a year. Coincidentally, Wayne Rooney also played a huge role in ending Arsenal's record unbeaten run, winning a penalty and scoring the second goal, in Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Arsenal in October 2004 - Arsenal's first Premiership defeat in 50 games. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award.

* This record has since been surpassed by James Milner, while playing for Leeds on 26 December 2003. He was 16 years 357 days. On 10 April 2005, James Vaughan while playing for Everton, scored a Premiership goal on his debut, making him, at 16 years and 271 days old, the youngest Premiership goal scorer to date (July 2005).

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, in February 2003 and also set a record as the youngest player to score for England. 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. Rooney has shown a darker side to his game, often losing his temper. This was most notable when he reacted violently in a game against Spain on the 19 November 2004. In that game Rooney was substituted by his manager Sven Goran Eriksson to avoid being sent off

Transfers

Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £100 a week and living with his family on a council estate. Now, the teenage sensation has raised that several times and 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 pounds. The club offered Rooney a new contract for £50,000 a week. This, however, was turned down by Rooney on the 27 August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to battle for his services.

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. In return for making a bid that would force Manchester United to try to buy the player a year earlier than they had planned, Newcastle would be allowed to bid for a Manchester United defender. Suspicions were further raised because at that point in time Newcastle United had little need for a striker having already got three top class forwards at the club. 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 in spectacular fashion and was concluded hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £22m is paid directly to Everton Football Club, 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 Everton and Manchester United. A final fee in the region of £25m is more likely. He 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 Manchester United).

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 spent their entire seasonal transfer budget on him.

Personal life

As with many high-profile football players, Rooney has been the target of many allegations and invasions into his private life. This includes his relationship with girlfriend Coleen McLoughlin. In particular The Sun, apparently because of a personal campaign launched by editor Rebekah Wade, has sought to discredit Rooney by publishing allegations about apparent violent behaviour towards his girlfriend and members of the public. Rooney and McLoughlin have both strenuously denied these allegations.

Rooney also hit the headlines after admitting to sleeping with a middle-aged prostitute; an affair which placed his relationship with McLoughlin in jeopardy, with Coleen allegedly throwing her engagement ring into a squirrel enclosure.

On 2 May 2005 the English Schools' Football Association and sponsor Coca Cola decided to drop him as guest of honour at one of their semi-final contests because "we could find a better role model". This followed allegations concerning his private life and excessive swearing during matches.

Rooney's personal life then made international headlines when Sepp Blatter, president of the world football governing body FIFA, said that Rooney's attitude deserved a "clip around the ear." Also on 14 September 2005, Rooney's actions on-field during a UEFA Champions League group match against Villarreal, caused him to receive a red card after sarcastically applauding the referee in charge. Thus many British newspapers stated that Rooney was a hot-head and needed to cool down.

Perhaps less well known is his very personal commitment to raising money for Claire House and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, and also his role as ambassador for SOS Children UK.

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