"Rooney"

by Gena Milanesi

Print Size 11 x 14 in

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Rooney began his career with Everton, joining their youth team at age ten and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut in 2002 and his first goal made him the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time. He quickly became part of Everton's first team, spending two seasons at the Merseyside club. Before the start of the 2004-05 season he moved to Manchester United for £25.6 million, which remains a world record for the highest transfer fee paid for a teenager, and became a key member of the first team. Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League and also two League Cups.

Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and, at UEFA Euro 2004, he briefly became the competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Individually, Rooney has also been awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009-10, a credit to his rapid development into one of his club and country's most important players. In a 2010 interview, former teammate and Argentina forward, Carlos Tevez, said that Rooney is "the best in the world, it was a privilege to play with him."