Wayne Rooney's eldest son Kai is a forward in Manchester United's youth ranks but told his father to stop attending his games
Manchester United's Kai Rooney in action during the Under 18 Premier League between Manchester United U18s and Middlesbrough U18s at Carrington Training Ground on August 23, 2025 in Manchester, England.
Kai Rooney plays for Manchester United's academy(Image: Manchester United, Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Wayne Rooney has been banned by his son Kai from attending the teenager's youth games for Manchester United.
Kai, 16, followed in his famous father's footsteps by joining United at the age of 11. He is the eldest of Wayne and his wife Coleen’s four sons.
The young forward faces huge pressure to emulate his father's success at Old Trafford. That is no small task considering Wayne is United's all-time top scorer with 253 goals, a former captain and a five-time Premier League champion following a 13-year career in the first team, having become a household name at the same age as Kai is now.
Even before proving himself as a promising talent in United's youth system, Kai was already under intense media and fan scrutiny. While the attention has boosted his profile and helped him secure a boot deal with Puma at just 12 years old, it has also had its drawbacks.
One such downside is that Wayne can't watch his son's matches live without being swarmed by fans approaching for photos and autographs. The media frenzy surrounding Wayne off the pitch risked overshadowing Kai's development on it.
As a result, Coleen once explained how Kai made the heart-breaking decision to ask the England legend not to attend his games.
Coleen revealed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here in 2024: "That's the thing with kids I think, it's hard to go on days out. Kai told Wayne to stop coming to football games, when he played grassroots tournaments and stuff because he used to get swarmed and he couldn't even watch the game.
Kai Rooney and Wayne Rooney during Nordoff Robbins' Legends of Football at JW Marriott Grosvenor House on October 07, 2024 in London, England
Wayne Rooney is a Red Devils hero(Image: Getty Images)
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"How do you say to all of these kids, 'Go away, I'm watching my son?' Adults, it's different, you could speak to them. So he (Kai) just said, 'Oh, dad there's no point you coming because you don't even watch me play anyway.' Which is sad, but it can't be helped anyway. At the same time, the fans help you along the way and get you where you are."
Kai began featuring for United's U18s this season aged just 15, several months prior to his November birthday. He made his debut coming off the bench during their 1-0 victory over his father's boyhood team, Everton, at Finch Farm in August.
Unfortunately, an injury ruled him out in the opening weeks of the campaign, although he has now returned to action for Darren Fletcher's side, celebrating his comeback by finding the net.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Manchester United's Kai Rooney scores his side's fifth goal of the game during the Under 18 Premier League between Manchester United U18s and Middlesbrough U18s at Carrington Training Ground on August 23, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Wayne's presence at Kai's matches caused too much chaos(Image: Manchester United, 2025 Manchester United FCvia Getty Images)
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Wayne, conscious of his own standing within football, previously admitted he tries to allow the club's coaching staff to take charge of his son's progress by avoiding giving him excessive tactical advice. Still, he does sometimes share valuable wisdom with all of his boys during training sessions at home, with Klay and Cass currently representing United and Everton respectively.
The 40-year-old said on The Wayne Rooney Show: "I'm quite lucky where I live as I've got a little pitch there and when the kids say, 'We're coming on the pitch', all they're gonna do is tie the balls on the top corner.
"So when I say to them when I was younger, I remember setting a little square to practise passing into it and just playing off the wall. So I'm very similar, [I tell them], 'You need to work on your speed, you need to work on your technique and control.' Otherwise, you go out and you're just like, 'Watch me hit the ball in the top corner.'"