Wayne Rooney enjoyed plenty of special moments over his remarkable career.
The forward was made at Everton where he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old, with that goal at Goodison Park.
Simply put, the rest is history for Rooney as he then went on to win just about everything there is to win with Manchester United.
However, his career could not end before the forward made his return to Merseyside to wear the Everton shirt once again.
Rooney really enjoyed playing for Everton under Sam Allardyce as he returned 10 goals in the 2017/18 Premier League season.
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David Moyes quote on having Wayne Rooney back at Everton in a dream scenario.
Credit: Getty Images/Jamie McDonald.
There is one moment that Rooney has now admitted to being one of his most special memories from that season at Goodison.
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Wayne Rooney shares his most special Everton moment
There were some not-so-positive times on Merseyside for the forward, with Rooney recollecting an argument with David Moyes during his first stint at the club.
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But there were plenty of positive memories, with one taking the prize.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the man himself brought up that hat-trick he scored at Goodison Park.
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“It was a special moment. I’d gone back to Everton and I’d never score a hat-trick for Everton,” he said.
“When I’d gone back to Everton, I’d scored a few goals but they were all at the Park End, they weren’t at the Gwladys Street End.
“So, that [halfway goal] was for my hat-trick. I’d caught Joe Hart off his line and I knew I was going to shoot. I knew I had to ping it and Michael Oliver did brilliantly to get out of the way of it. Caught it perfect and that was a special moment to score at the Gwladys Street.”
Rooney still wants to return to Everton as the manager one day, but his record in recent years may prevent that from happening.
One thing that cannot be denied is his career as a player and he clearly holds that return to Merseyside very high in his memories.
Why Wayne Rooney wanted to return to Everton
Moyes remembers his first-ever conversation with Rooney when he was coming through the club’s academy programme.
The young Rooney was not particularly talkative, which Moyes recalled as he spoke to him about joining up with the first team.
Rooney’s reason for returning to Everton after his spell at Manchester United was clear, though.
“A big part of me going back to Everton was for my kids to see me play for Everton. That was important,” Rooney added.
“Obviously, being an Evertonian, for my kids to see me playing for Everton was big for me. So, I was just really pleased they got to see that.”
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