The Premier League legend spent thirteen seasons with United
Wayne and Coleen Rooney
Wayne and Coleen Rooney(Image: Wayne Rooney and Coleen Rooney Instagram)
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Wayne Rooney has spoken about the reaction he received when leaving Everton for Manchester United in 2004. The forward made his mark immediately when playing for Everton and had a place in the first team at the age of 16. A £27m deal to Manchester United at the age of 18 came after he rejected a new contract offer on Merseyside.
On BBC Sport's The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney spoke about the backlash he received. He said: "My parents’ house was getting spray painted and smashed up.
"My girlfriend at the time, wife now [Coleen Rooney], her house was getting spray painted. I think that's where you have to be mentally strong. The people around you have to help. Leaving was difficult because I went to Manchester United, and Liverpool and Manchester have a big rivalry so that made it a lot more difficult."
Rooney admitted he always had the mindset of "I don't care" despite getting "death threats", the former strike admitted that he knew what he wanted and had to "stay tough" in his mind. The Premier League legend spent 13 seasons with United, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League, as well as many other honours.
The 40-year-old returned to boyhood club Everton in 2017. After just one season back at Goodison Park, Rooney left for Major League Soccer side DC United and ended his playing career with Derby. Rooney is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, he is Manchester United's leading scorer with 253 goals and was the record goalscorer for the England national team from 2015 to 2023.
In January, Coleen Rooney appeared on the latest episode of Stick to Football brought to you by Sky Bet. The show has a regular panel of Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Jill Scott.
Coleen and Wayne got married in 2008 in a ceremony in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy. They were both 22 at the time after being engaged from the ages of 17 and 18. The mum of four admitted that she and Wayne "felt older" because they had grown up quickly and were living in the public eye.
Former professional footballer and current TV Pundit Wayne Rooney
Former professional footballer and current TV Pundit Wayne Rooney
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Coleen was honest with the panellists and admitted it was hard for Wayne to move to Manchester United from Everton. She said her husband stood his ground and decided he was going to move as it would be the best decision for his own career.
The 38-year-old spoke about Rooney's goals as a young footballer, saying: "I don’t think it was an issue moving to Manchester. For him, Everton is his club, and he loved it, still does, but Manchester United is a massive club.
"All he wanted to do was win trophies. He saw players in the past stay with their childhood clubs and not go on to win anything. For him, it was hard, but he stood his ground and wanted to leave."
Coleen said: "We literally took ourselves and moved because Sir Alex Ferguson said that he wanted us out of Liverpool. But it was our families that got the backlash then and that wasn’t fair."
Rooney didn't return to Liverpool for a while after the acts of vandalism, Coleen claimed that he wasn't able to get food or do shopping because people would start shouting at him.
In an emotional admission, Coleen added: "It was tough, but it was worth it for him because he went on to win and seize the lead goal scorer. We had some fantastic times there.”