ESPN FC’s Taylor Twellman explains why the onus is on D.C. United and not Wayne Rooney to make his potential move to Major League Soccer a success.
The FC panel analyse the challenges facing Wayne Rooney, how he might be received at D.C. United and why he might love or hate the MLS experience.
Sebastian Salazar joins the FC panel to voice his disapproval of a Wayne Rooney move stateside, and explains why he wouldn’t thrive at D.C. United.
Wayne Rooney has agreed to join Major League Soccer’s D.C. United from Everton, with the former Manchester United captain set to finalise a deal once the league’s summer window reopens on July 10, according to multiple reports.
The Washington Post reported that Rooney will become the franchise’s highest-paid player after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract that will pay him about $13 million, with D.C. United acquiring the rights for the 32-year-old from Everton for an undisclosed fee.
Rooney could start training with his new team by the end of this week, according to the Post, which reported that he’s already secured his United States visa and work permit and could feature as soon as its first match in the new Audi Field on July 14 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
D.C. United are in need of help, with the team currently in last place in the Eastern Conference on an MLS-low 10 points after 12 matches. Manager Ben Olsen said Rooney can help the team course correct.
“He is coming here to win,” Olsen told WTOP. “That was one of the first things that stood out when I first talked to him. He is not coming here to wind down his career, but to help us become a team that will contend for a title.”
Rooney spent last season with his boyhood club Everton after leaving Man United in the summer of 2017, scoring 11 goals in 40 matches across all competitions as the Toffees finished eighth in the Premier League.
Rooney still had one year left on his deal with Everton, but the club did not stand in the way of England’s record goalscorer leaving to play in the U.S.
In 2004, Rooney signed with United, leaving Everton as an 18-year-old in a £25.6m deal. He went on to score 253 goals in 559 appearances at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League title five times.
Rooney, fifth on United’s all-time list of appearance-makers, also won the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and three League Cups during 13 seasons at United.
Rooney finished his international career with the Three Lions with 53 goals in 119 appearances.
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