It is reported that Wayne Rooney wants to leave his boyhood club Everton after just one season back on Merseyside. It was meant to be the heroic return, and he would retire there but the season has not gone according to plan, so he is ready to make a trip across the pond to join ex-Manchester United players Bastian Schweinsteiger, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Magnus Wolff-Eikrem in the MLS.
Rooney returned to Goodison Park hoping to build on their 7th place finish of the season before. However, with the loss of top goalscorer Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, they lacked firepower as Ronald Koeman brought in four attacking midfielders rather than replacing the 25 goal man. His future was settled when Everton pulled the plug in October. However, the club dallied on deciding their new manager and crashed out of Europe under interim manager David Unsworth. Current manager Sam Allardyce took over in November and steadied the ship.
All this poor management from above has affected the side, and with Allardyce’s future up in the air after just six months, Rooney may want to end his part in the circus. The former England captain has had a solid season as he found the net ten times in the league; the first time since the 2014/15 season. However, the decline of Rooney has been coming for a few years even before his transfer.
Rooney has reportedly changed his attitude around the ground as he has become disillusioned with the proceedings. But manager Allardyce told TalkSport that Rooney is still happy being at the club and he will not be leaving the club over the summer but admits he cannot stop the “Wayne Rooney” saga from happening.
However, the talk of a move to the MLS would not disappear, and the club that look most likely to sign Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer is DC United; he must love the name United! DC are the unlikely favourites to capture his signature and have “in principle” agreed a deal worth £12.5 million. Given that they are bottom of the Eastern Conference at the moment and have not won the MLS Cup since 2004, it does seem to be a strange move for a winner like Rooney.
If the move goes ahead, DC are willing to pay the £300,000 a week he is demanding, and he could be joined by other high-class players such as Andres Iniesta, Mario Balotelli and former teammate Carlos Tevez as the American side plan to build a team of elites. However, fans are concerned that they may be viewed as a retirement team as the league tries and shakes that unwanted title it holds.
This move could be great for England’s all-time top goal scorer, and he could find that form once again that could end his career on a high. With question marks over his ability in England, a fresh start in the USA could be what he needs. There is no doubting Rooney has the capabilities to command a side and find the back of the net, but when you compare him to his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, you see a big difference to the end of their careers despite enjoying many years of success at the top together.
