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England’s golden child loses his lustre: What's next for Wayne Rooney?

KickOff new author
Roar Rookie
27th June, 2017
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Wayne Rooney's making a return to his boyhood love. (AFP PHOTO/LINDSEY PARNABY)
KickOff new author
Roar Rookie
27th June, 2017
3

As England laboured in recent post-season international games against Scotland and France, there was one name missing from the squad and teamsheet who would have been an unthinkable omission over the past decade.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney was nowhere to be seen, despite becoming England’s all-time record goalscorer just under two years ago and leading his team out in a major international tournament just a year prior.

In many ways the story of Rooney is a fable for the modern era of football. For much of his career he’s been considered England’s saviour, and while he may not have been ever fully accepted as a Liverpudlian at Manchester United – the club he’s spent almost the entirety of his professional career – he has been respected and valued.

Sidelined for much of last season at Manchester United, despite also becoming the club’s record goalscorer at the start of this year, recent reports have suggested he would be happy to simply run down the clock on his massive £250,000 per week contract with the club.

In 21st century football, money talks and Rooney knows that he is not going warrant a similar wage at any other club. As much as they will launch young players from obscurity into a millionaire’s lifestyle, the huge riches in modern football can at time seem to trap footballers in gilded cages.

So where did it start to unravel for Rooney? And how does he write a successful final chapter on a glittering career?

It’s often easy to forget that, while his powers may have waned in recent seasons, Rooney is still only 31.

Trace back where it started to go wrong for him and you inevitably end up at England’s dismal European Championships campaign last summer.

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An ill-judged move into midfield and a ‘quarter-back’ playmaker role typified the country’s confused approach to the tournament.

A drop in pace over recent years, and the emergence of a number of exciting, young attacking options for the national side meant Roy Hodgson had to find a place for his captain in the side.

Manchester United's English striker Wayne Rooney

(AFP PHOTO/LINDSEY PARNABY)

Rooney seemed to be also keen to make the switch, perhaps aware that he needed to adapt his game as the years passed by.

Needless to say, it failed. Rooney looked out of place, and unable to influence the game with the tenacity he once showed he was relegated to spraying the ball around in hope of hitting a ‘killer pass.’

A return to domestic action didn’t go much better. Despite newly-installed Man United manager Jose Mourinho coveting the player in years gone by, he now seemed to shun him.

Rooney’s desire to adopt a deeper midfield role was more suited to other players, and his audition in the position hadn’t done him any favours. And the singing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and emergence of Marcus Rashford had cut off his rout back into United’s forward line.

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As a forward, your primary responsibility is of course to score and make goals. These are both things Rooney has struggled to do over the past season.

Just five goals in the Premier League this season tells the story of a player who no longer possesses the threat he once did. You’ve got to go back to the 2011-12 season to find the last time he hit over 20 goals in a season.

It was a milestone he also reached in the 2009-10 campaign, but one he has failed to hit the in the following five.

His assist tally hit a high point of 13 in the 2007-08 Premier League season, but has not reached double figures in the last three years.

Stats alone don’t tell the story, but even a layman can see Rooney now labours on the pitch in a way he never used to. Murmurs of poor lifestyle choices in recent years have become headlines this season. And boredom has surely played a part in tales of late night drinking binges and casino losses.

If those headlines are not what ‘Wazza’ is to be remembered for in the twilight of his career he must make a change.

Rumours of interest from Chinese clubs seem to have evaporated as controls come into place to curb their spending excesses, and as mentioned, no European club who would want his services can afford his astronomical wages.

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Once mooted as a possible transfer, even boyhood club Everton seem to be heading in a different direction and would not look to the player unless his personal demands were much lower.

America and the MLS seems to be the most likely option for Rooney. The path David Beckham first trod back in 2007 would make a lot of sense.

He could be considered a marquee signing for one of the league’s franchises and therefore not sit under the same wage cap as other players.

Soccer continues to grow in popularity in the States and an ambassadorial role in promoting the sport would be huge for Rooney and the MLS.

Such a bold move may well spell the end of his England career, but time spend warming the bench at Old Trafford is just as likely to do so.

And for one of England’s most famous footballing sons, it would represent a sad end to a phenomenal career.

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