Everton striker Wayne Rooney played at Old Trafford ten days ago as a member of the opposition. This was his first time that he had done so in 13 years. From 2004 until the end of last season, Rooney became Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer, having netted 183 times in 393 appearances.
This summer he returned to his boyhood club at Goodison Park on a free transfer, a transaction that United Manager Jose Mourinho said he just could not even fathom stopping.
Mourinho told Sky Sports that the decision was a no brainer, “easy” and it did not require much thinking.
“I think it is easy. That way it is easy because you don’t have to think a lot,” Mourinho said.
“You just have to respect the player’s desire, and what they decide. And when they’re a legend they deserve that freedom of choice.”
At his weekly news conference ahead of the match, Mourinho called on fans at Old Trafford to show their support for Wayne Rooney before and after, but not during the match.
“I think sometimes the word ‘legend’ in this country comes too easily. That’s not the situation in his case – he’s a real legend, with the number of goals he scored and trophies he won.
“He’s clearly one of the most important players in Manchester United’s history and I think the stadium will show him that respect he deserves. I hope [that happens] before the match and after the match, not during the match.”
“He’s a Everton player now and I’m not going to speak about Wayne more than I already have. He’s a legend of this club, he deserves to be welcomed that way but during the match he’s an Everton player that wants to win the match.”
Having originally started at Everton and working through the academy ranks; Wayne Rooney shot into the public view as a future star of the English game. This occurred when he scored the stunning goal against Arsenal at just 16 years of age. In the process stopping the lengthy winning run that Arsenal had at the time.
From Everton he then moved over to Manchester and played 557 games for the club. He won pretty much everything there and scored a stunning 253 goals for United. He has now signed back for Everton and on August 21st scored his 200thgoal in the Premier league against Manchester City.
Rooney had continued to score for both club and country throughout his career. This is shown through him surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring records for United and England. He is also one of only two players to have scored over 200 Premier league goals; the other of course being Alan Shearer who ended up with a staggering 260 goals.
This infographic will cover his successful career and show all the ups and downs that have occurred throughout. You can also check out the latest Betfair football odds ahead of another huge week in the Premier league; including the top of the table clash between current champions Chelsea and the powerhouses in Manchester City.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.