Wayne Rooney has revealed he came close to playing for Middlesbrough before his blockbuster move to Manchester United.
The former Birmingham City, Derby County and Plymouth Argyle boss came through the ranks at Everton and after two senior seasons was sold to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils in 2004 for £25.6million.
However, the Liverpool-born talent nearly swapped Merseyside for London instead of his Old Trafford switch. During England’s Euro 2004 campaign, Rooney caught wind of the Toffees agreeing a deal to sell him to Chelsea, who had recently been bought by Roman Abramovich.
That move fell apart for a number of reasons, but Rooney has now revealed that a part of the deal that included Middlesbrough was a big reason he turned down a Stamford Bridge switch.
Chelsea v Manchester United
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Chelsea wanted to send Wayne Rooney on loan to Middlesbrough
Speaking on the BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the former England captain explained how he came close to joining Boro on loan from Chelsea.
He said: “When we were at the Euros in Euro 2004, Everton had agreed a deal with Chelsea for me to sign for Chelsea and I had no knowledge of that whatsoever. My agent then went and spoke to Abramovich and their team.
“They said yeah they wanted to sign me, then send me out on loan to Middlesbrough. I was like ‘no chance’.
“So yeah, me going to London at that time, it just didn’t make sense at all. So the minute I knew Manchester United were interested in me, then that was the only place I was going to go really.”
Asked why Chelsea wanted to send him to Boro, Rooney said: “I think because Steve McClaren was there, and I think Abramovich liked him as a manager and he wanted me to go and work under Steve McClaren.”
Co-host Kae Kurd then noted Rooney could have missed out on scoring a hat-trick against Fenerbahce in the Champions League on his debut to play in the Championship.
However, Boro fans will rightly tell you that they were not in the second tier at the time.
The North East club finished 11th in the Premier League that season before Rooney left for Man United, coming seventh in the following 2004/05 season. They qualified for the first round of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup after winning the 2004 League Cup, and reached the final of the UEFA Cup in 2006.
Middlesbrough hoping 11 summer signings can help get them back in the Premier League
Boro may have missed out on Rooney way back in 2004, but fast forward to 2025 and their fans are the happiest they’ve been in a long time.
Rob Edwards has had a full summer to bring in new players, making 11 signings to push the former Premier League club towards getting promoted back to the top flight for the first time since 2017.
£26.2million has been dropped on players including defender Adilson Malanda, while attacker Kaly Sene also joined. Keeping Hayden Hackney has also been a major boost.
That business and the ex-Luton Town boss’s ability to blend it with existing stars has put Boro top of the Championship table after the opening four games. They have won all four of their fixtures.