Standup9ja: Rooney leaves Manchester United to rejoin
Everton
Manchester United’s former England national football team
captain Wayne Rooney on Sunday rejoined his boyhood club Everton on a two-year
deal after 13 trophy-laden years at Old Trafford.
Rooney, who has moved to Goodison Park for an undisclosed
fee, spoke of his excitement at returning to a club where he began his career
after coming through the youth ranks.
“(Winning trophies with Everton) would be the pinnacle,’’
the 31-year-old said.
“I really feel now the club is moving in the right
direction, bringing the right calibre of players in. I want to be part of it
and hopefully part of a successful Everton team.
“It’s a great feeling to be back. I’m excited, I cannot wait
to meet the lads, get on the training pitch and then get on the pitch to play.
I’m ecstatic – I just cannot wait to get back playing.’’
Rooney exploded on to the Premier League scene when he
netted a stunning winner for Everton against Arsenal aged 16.
He moved to United two years later for a fee reported by
British media to be 25 million pounds ($32.23 million).
Scoring a hat-trick on his United debut against Fenerbahce
in the Champions League, Rooney went on to play more than 550 games for the
club.
He scored 253 goals to become their all-time leading scorer,
eclipsing the great Bobby Charlton’s record.
Rooney’s England debut came under Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson,
aged 17, and he became the country’s all-time top scorer with 53 goals and the
most capped outfield player with 119 appearances.
At United he won the Champions League, five Premier League
titles and the FA Cup and was Footballer of the Year in 2010.
But last season he cut a disconsolate figure at times when
he was no longer an automatic selection under manager Jose Mourinho and lost
his place in the England squad.
“It is no secret that I have long been an admirer of Wayne,’’
Mourinho said on United’s website (www.manutd.com).
“He has been a model professional throughout his time at the
club and will remain in the history books for many years to come.
“It is never easy to see a great player playing less
football than he would like and I could not stand in his way when he asked to
go back to Everton.”
Everton manager Ronald Koeman believes Rooney can make a
real contribution to the Merseyside club next season.
“He loves Everton and he was desperate to come back,” said
the Dutchman.
“He is still only 31 and I don’t have any doubts about his
qualities. It’s fantastic he’s here.’’
With a fee agreed between Everton and United for Belgium
striker Romelu Lukaku to move in the opposite direction, the way was clear for
Rooney to leave after 13 years.
Rooney made 77 appearances for Everton and scored 17 goals
between 2002 and 2004 when he left for Old Trafford.
When the striker appeared at the Everton training-ground on
Saturday for a medical, Blues supporters soon arrived to welcome back a player
who first joined the club aged nine.
Rooney is reported to be taking a large pay cut to return to
Everton, who have been recruiting heavily under Koeman and financial backer
Farhad Moshiri, a British-Iranian businessman.
They had finished seventh in the league last season.
Everton have bought young England players, namely goalkeeper
Jordan Pickford from Sunderland and Burnley central defender Michael Keane.
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