Retired soccer player and former DC United manager Wayne Rooney revealed that he rejected an offer to coach in the Saudi Pro League before accepting his new role as manager of Birmingham City FC. Current Birmingham chief executive Garry Cook revealed that, when he was the CEO of the Saudi League, he attempted to lure Rooney but to no avail.

“I think for myself, firstly to get back into English football is great. It’s what I’ve wanted to do,” Rooney explained. “I’ve had opportunities over the last four to six weeks at other clubs as well, but since speaking to Birmingham, it was a really easy decision. I want to be successful; it’s clear this club wants to be successful; and everything we spoke about was very similar,” the Birmingham manager said of his new job.

This comes after Rooney parted ways with DC United last week after the MLS team was eliminated from MLS playoff contention.

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Wayne Rooney’s MLS adventure is coming to an end sooner than expected. Rooney announced on Tuesday that he is leaving D.C. United in order to take on a player-coach role with English Championship side Derby County.

Rooney won’t assume his new role immediately, however, as he looks to wrap up the 2019 MLS season with D.C. and try to win MLS Cup. The veteran English forward made 21 appearances in MLS this year,  scoring 11 goals and dishing six assists.

“I remain fully focused on giving my all for the team for the rest of this season and repaying the support shown by the Black-and-Red faithful by hopefully delivering an MLS Cup to Audi Field,” – said Rooney in a statement.  “My time in Major League Soccer is something I will always be proud of.” 

Rooney’s decision to leave the United States was a result of him wanting to be closer to his family. The 33-year-old was also attracted by the opportunity to learn under Derby’s new boss Phillip Cocu.

“Wayne Rooney is an extremely talented and top-class footballer,” – said Cocu of his new player and staff member. “It is an exciting prospect for him to be joining Derby County and he can bring so much to this squad, both on and off the pitch.”

Wayne Rooney joined D.C. United in 2018, signing a three and a half years deal with the club. Rooney’s first year in MLS proved to be quite successful, as he scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 22 games. He was also named into MLS Best XI at the end of 2018.

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England international and Borrusia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho is one of the most sought-after players this summer. After a breakthrough 2018/19 Bundesliga season, the 19-year-old attracted the attention of all major European clubs including Manchester United.

But one former Man Utd great thinks that Sancho should snub Premier League giants and stay in Germany. D.C. United’s forward Wayne Rooney, who spent the better part of his career as United’s captain, recently advised Sancho to remain with Borussia in order to develop his game further.

“Dortmund is a great club with great fans, they trust their young players and you can see that in Sancho and the progress he has made in the last 12 months,” – Rooney told German magazine Bild.

According to Rooney, Sancho should prioritize playing time and get the most of his opportunity to be a regular starter with Dortmund.

“Now Jadon has to ask himself whether he would get the playing time he gets in Dortmund when he moves to England, or would he just sit on the bench?” – he added. “Playing time is so important for a young player like Jadon, so if he gets the most playing time in Dortmund, he should stay there.”

Jadon Sancho played a total of 34 games in Bundesliga this past season, contributing with 12 goals and 14 assists. He also added one goal in UEFA Champions League in seven matches he played.

Thanks to his fine form, Sancho earned England national team call-up in 2018 and has since played six games with the senior team. 

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Despite being in the middle of MLS campaign with D.C. United, forward Wayne Rooney still cares about his former team Manchester United and watches what the team is doing in the offseason. And not just that. Rooney also decided to offer some shopping advice to United’s boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

After a disappointing 2018/19 Premier League season, Man Utd plan to revamp their roster during the summer and are targeting some big stars who could help them return to the top of English soccer. But Rooney thinks that Solskjaer should take a different approach and sign young talents instead of expensive stars.

“For Ole, I think the first thing he’s got to do is try and build the squad,” – said Rooney in a recent chat with BBC Radio Five Live. “I don’t think bringing one or two players in for over £100 million is going to really help with the squad and the players who are there. I think he needs to try and look at maybe five or six players who have got potential to be top players but you’re not spending £120m-£130m on these players.”

Ever since legendary manager Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, Manchester United hasn’t won the Premier League. They also only managed to get in the top four twice since then. This is why Rooney thinks that the team should do a proper rebuild and has urged the fans to have patience during that period.  

“I just think the club needs to rebuild with younger players. But they need to be good enough and allow the manager to improve them,” – he added. “And I think the Man United fans will understand that they are probably not going to compete for the Premier League next year.

According to latest reports, Solskjaer already set up a shopping list for the summer which includes Napoli’s center back Kalidou Koulibaly, Atletico Madrid talented midfielder Saul Niguez and several young English players such as Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho.

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The 2018 MLS season didn’t look well for D.C. United. They had two wins in the first 14 games and were stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Then the team secured a move for former Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney, and their luck changed.

Since Rooney came to Washington, D.C. United started playing like a different team, managing 10 wins and collecting 33 points. The latest win against FC Dallas even moved them to a playoff spot with just three games left in the regular season.

According to Rooney, the reason why they managed to win Dallas in a close game is that the whole team is “thriving” on the pressure to get into playoffs.

“I think that’s where you want to be in soccer — to have these pressure moments,” – the 32-year-old striker told the reporters. “No one wants to be in the middle or the bottom of the league and just playing for the fun of it. You want pressure moments and to feel that pressure, it’s important what we’re doing. We’ve got that pressure and we’re thriving on it and we’re picking up results and wins.“

D.C. United is currently sixth in Eastern Conference with one point ahead of Montreal Impact on the seventh spot. The good news for United is that they also have one game less than Impact, which gives them more room for errors.

Rooney doesn’t want his team to satisfy themselves with making the playoffs as the last seeded team. He is already thinking about catching fifth-seeded Columbus Crew.

“We’ll have the game against New York City on Sunday,” – he added. “As I’ve said before, every game is a pressure game and if we can win Wednesday we know we’re three points away — regardless of what Montreal do — from making that last spot. And you never know, we could even catch Columbus, so we keep pushing and see where we finish.“

Since joining D.C. United in June 2018, Wayne Rooney played 16 games in Major League Soccer and managed to score nine goals while adding seven assists.

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It looks like everything is set for Everton star Wayne Rooney to come to Major League Soccer. Rooney visited Washington last week to discuss a potential contract with DC United and now the team’s coach Ben Olsen expressed his hope that both parties are interested in getting the job done.

“There is interest in Wayne Rooney from our end and I think there is interest from his end too,” – Olsen said to reporters on Saturday night. “I hope it can get over the line because he’s a very good player who can help us. He would be a great player for this league.”

According to ESPN, Wayne Rooney agreed to personal details that would make him DC United’s highest paid players and keep him with the team through 2020 MLS season.

“Nothing is done, so I don’t want to get into talk of arrival until he actually arrives,” – Olsen added. “Nothing is ever done in this world and when you’re looking at a deal of this scope and size. We’ll see, but hopefully, we can get it done.”

Wayne Rooney has a solid 2017-18 season behind him, appearing in 40 games for Everton and scoring 11 goals. DC United could really use his services, considering the fact that the team is currently last in the Eastern Conference with just two wins out of 10 games played.

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LA Galaxy defender Ashley Cole is excited to be reunited with Wayne Rooney in America as Rooney’s move to DC United edges closer as he was spotted in Washington on Wednesday.

Rooney, who is the all-time top scorer for England–as well as Manchester United, is reportedly being offered a contract with DC which will run till the end of the 2020 season.

Cole and Rooney were previously team-mates in the England national team and both are widely regarded as being two of the greatest English footballers of the past generation.

Cole is excited about the possibility of playing against his former rival and said: “I think it shows the improvement of the league. He’s a little bit older, but to attract these kinds of players is great for the league. … I’m excited if he does come to play against him again.

“It’s always different to the Premier League,” – Cole added. “We’re getting older when we leave [England for MLS], so he’s not going to be the 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. But I think he’s still got enough quality for this league.“

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After Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, another Premier League star has his eyes set on the Major League Soccer. According to reports from BBC and Sky Sport, Everton’s forward Wayne Rooney has agreed in principle to join D.C. United.

The deal to bring Wayne Rooney to the United States has been in the works for several weeks now, and player’s agents recently visited Washington to iron out smaller details. The 32-year-old will receive a contract throughout the 2020 MLS season, becoming the team’s highest-paid player.

Although it looks that the move to MLS is inevitable for former England national team captain, Everton would sure like to keep Rooney for the next season as well.

“There have been rumors about Wayne going abroad, China or America, but we won’t find out until Wayne and his agent have been contacted and whether he feels like he wants to be here or not.” – said Everton’s head coach Sam Allardyce . “At the moment he is an Everton fan as well as an Everton player so I wouldn’t consider anything is on the cards at the moment.“

“It would have to be massive for him to want to leave Everton.” – added Allardyce while dismissing reports that Rooney might be unsatisfied with his role on the team.

Wayne Rooney started his professional career with Everton, where he played in 67 games from 2002 to 2004 while scoring 15 Premiere League goals in that period. He earned himself a transfer to Manchester United in 2004 and went on to become one of the team’s legends. He played in 559 games during his 13 seasons with the team and managed to score 253 in all competitions, becoming United’s all-time scoring leader. Rooney also won numerous trophies with Manchester United, including five national league titles and one UEFA Champions League. In July 2017, he decided to return to Everton.

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Wayne Rooney has spoken about what Zlatan Ibrahimovic is really like after the Swedish football icon joined LA Galaxy this week for what could be the final chapter of his career.

Ibrahimovic ended his stay at Manchester United last week after terminating his contract with the club by mutual consent.

During his time at Old Trafford, he scored an impressive 29 goals from 53 games before suffering a serious injury last season which only allowed him to make several appearances this term.

Ibrahimovic who enjoys being in the limelight and scoring goals on a regular basis decided to quit the club due to lack of involvement.

Rooney who teamed up with Ibrahimovic at United said: “Good luck to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the next chapter of his career. One of the biggest characters I have played with. Great player and great person. A lion of a man.”

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Retired soccer player and former DC United manager Wayne Rooney revealed that he rejected an offer to coach in the Saudi Pro League before accepting his new role as manager of Birmingham City FC. Current Birmingham chief executive Garry Cook revealed that, when he was the CEO of the Saudi League, he attempted to lure Rooney but to no avail.

“I think for myself, firstly to get back into English football is great. It’s what I’ve wanted to do,” Rooney explained. “I’ve had opportunities over the last four to six weeks at other clubs as well, but since speaking to Birmingham, it was a really easy decision. I want to be successful; it’s clear this club wants to be successful; and everything we spoke about was very similar,” the Birmingham manager said of his new job.

This comes after Rooney parted ways with DC United last week after the MLS team was eliminated from MLS playoff contention.

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Wayne Rooney’s MLS adventure is coming to an end sooner than expected. Rooney announced on Tuesday that he is leaving D.C. United in order to take on a player-coach role with English Championship side Derby County.

Rooney won’t assume his new role immediately, however, as he looks to wrap up the 2019 MLS season with D.C. and try to win MLS Cup. The veteran English forward made 21 appearances in MLS this year,  scoring 11 goals and dishing six assists.

“I remain fully focused on giving my all for the team for the rest of this season and repaying the support shown by the Black-and-Red faithful by hopefully delivering an MLS Cup to Audi Field,” – said Rooney in a statement.  “My time in Major League Soccer is something I will always be proud of.” 

Rooney’s decision to leave the United States was a result of him wanting to be closer to his family. The 33-year-old was also attracted by the opportunity to learn under Derby’s new boss Phillip Cocu.

“Wayne Rooney is an extremely talented and top-class footballer,” – said Cocu of his new player and staff member. “It is an exciting prospect for him to be joining Derby County and he can bring so much to this squad, both on and off the pitch.”

Wayne Rooney joined D.C. United in 2018, signing a three and a half years deal with the club. Rooney’s first year in MLS proved to be quite successful, as he scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 22 games. He was also named into MLS Best XI at the end of 2018.

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England international and Borrusia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho is one of the most sought-after players this summer. After a breakthrough 2018/19 Bundesliga season, the 19-year-old attracted the attention of all major European clubs including Manchester United.

But one former Man Utd great thinks that Sancho should snub Premier League giants and stay in Germany. D.C. United’s forward Wayne Rooney, who spent the better part of his career as United’s captain, recently advised Sancho to remain with Borussia in order to develop his game further.

“Dortmund is a great club with great fans, they trust their young players and you can see that in Sancho and the progress he has made in the last 12 months,” – Rooney told German magazine Bild.

According to Rooney, Sancho should prioritize playing time and get the most of his opportunity to be a regular starter with Dortmund.

“Now Jadon has to ask himself whether he would get the playing time he gets in Dortmund when he moves to England, or would he just sit on the bench?” – he added. “Playing time is so important for a young player like Jadon, so if he gets the most playing time in Dortmund, he should stay there.”

Jadon Sancho played a total of 34 games in Bundesliga this past season, contributing with 12 goals and 14 assists. He also added one goal in UEFA Champions League in seven matches he played.

Thanks to his fine form, Sancho earned England national team call-up in 2018 and has since played six games with the senior team. 

The post Wayne Rooney Advises England Star Jadon Sancho to Remain with Borussia appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Despite being in the middle of MLS campaign with D.C. United, forward Wayne Rooney still cares about his former team Manchester United and watches what the team is doing in the offseason. And not just that. Rooney also decided to offer some shopping advice to United’s boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

After a disappointing 2018/19 Premier League season, Man Utd plan to revamp their roster during the summer and are targeting some big stars who could help them return to the top of English soccer. But Rooney thinks that Solskjaer should take a different approach and sign young talents instead of expensive stars.

“For Ole, I think the first thing he’s got to do is try and build the squad,” – said Rooney in a recent chat with BBC Radio Five Live. “I don’t think bringing one or two players in for over £100 million is going to really help with the squad and the players who are there. I think he needs to try and look at maybe five or six players who have got potential to be top players but you’re not spending £120m-£130m on these players.”

Ever since legendary manager Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, Manchester United hasn’t won the Premier League. They also only managed to get in the top four twice since then. This is why Rooney thinks that the team should do a proper rebuild and has urged the fans to have patience during that period.  

“I just think the club needs to rebuild with younger players. But they need to be good enough and allow the manager to improve them,” – he added. “And I think the Man United fans will understand that they are probably not going to compete for the Premier League next year.

According to latest reports, Solskjaer already set up a shopping list for the summer which includes Napoli’s center back Kalidou Koulibaly, Atletico Madrid talented midfielder Saul Niguez and several young English players such as Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho.

The post Wayne Rooney Advises Man Utd to Acquire Young Talent over Expensive Stars appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The 2018 MLS season didn’t look well for D.C. United. They had two wins in the first 14 games and were stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Then the team secured a move for former Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney, and their luck changed.

Since Rooney came to Washington, D.C. United started playing like a different team, managing 10 wins and collecting 33 points. The latest win against FC Dallas even moved them to a playoff spot with just three games left in the regular season.

According to Rooney, the reason why they managed to win Dallas in a close game is that the whole team is “thriving” on the pressure to get into playoffs.

“I think that’s where you want to be in soccer — to have these pressure moments,” – the 32-year-old striker told the reporters. “No one wants to be in the middle or the bottom of the league and just playing for the fun of it. You want pressure moments and to feel that pressure, it’s important what we’re doing. We’ve got that pressure and we’re thriving on it and we’re picking up results and wins.“

D.C. United is currently sixth in Eastern Conference with one point ahead of Montreal Impact on the seventh spot. The good news for United is that they also have one game less than Impact, which gives them more room for errors.

Rooney doesn’t want his team to satisfy themselves with making the playoffs as the last seeded team. He is already thinking about catching fifth-seeded Columbus Crew.

“We’ll have the game against New York City on Sunday,” – he added. “As I’ve said before, every game is a pressure game and if we can win Wednesday we know we’re three points away — regardless of what Montreal do — from making that last spot. And you never know, we could even catch Columbus, so we keep pushing and see where we finish.“

Since joining D.C. United in June 2018, Wayne Rooney played 16 games in Major League Soccer and managed to score nine goals while adding seven assists.

The post Wayne Rooney: D.C. United “Thriving” on Pressure to Claim a Playoff Spot appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looks like everything is set for Everton star Wayne Rooney to come to Major League Soccer. Rooney visited Washington last week to discuss a potential contract with DC United and now the team’s coach Ben Olsen expressed his hope that both parties are interested in getting the job done.

“There is interest in Wayne Rooney from our end and I think there is interest from his end too,” – Olsen said to reporters on Saturday night. “I hope it can get over the line because he’s a very good player who can help us. He would be a great player for this league.”

According to ESPN, Wayne Rooney agreed to personal details that would make him DC United’s highest paid players and keep him with the team through 2020 MLS season.

“Nothing is done, so I don’t want to get into talk of arrival until he actually arrives,” – Olsen added. “Nothing is ever done in this world and when you’re looking at a deal of this scope and size. We’ll see, but hopefully, we can get it done.”

Wayne Rooney has a solid 2017-18 season behind him, appearing in 40 games for Everton and scoring 11 goals. DC United could really use his services, considering the fact that the team is currently last in the Eastern Conference with just two wins out of 10 games played.

The post DC United Head Coach Ben Olsen Confirms Interest in Wayne Rooney appeared first on SportzBonanza.

LA Galaxy defender Ashley Cole is excited to be reunited with Wayne Rooney in America as Rooney’s move to DC United edges closer as he was spotted in Washington on Wednesday.

Rooney, who is the all-time top scorer for England–as well as Manchester United, is reportedly being offered a contract with DC which will run till the end of the 2020 season.

Cole and Rooney were previously team-mates in the England national team and both are widely regarded as being two of the greatest English footballers of the past generation.

Cole is excited about the possibility of playing against his former rival and said: “I think it shows the improvement of the league. He’s a little bit older, but to attract these kinds of players is great for the league. … I’m excited if he does come to play against him again.

“It’s always different to the Premier League,” – Cole added. “We’re getting older when we leave [England for MLS], so he’s not going to be the 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. But I think he’s still got enough quality for this league.“

The post Ashley Cole excited to be reunited with Wayne Rooney in MLS appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, another Premier League star has his eyes set on the Major League Soccer. According to reports from BBC and Sky Sport, Everton’s forward Wayne Rooney has agreed in principle to join D.C. United.

The deal to bring Wayne Rooney to the United States has been in the works for several weeks now, and player’s agents recently visited Washington to iron out smaller details. The 32-year-old will receive a contract throughout the 2020 MLS season, becoming the team’s highest-paid player.

Although it looks that the move to MLS is inevitable for former England national team captain, Everton would sure like to keep Rooney for the next season as well.

“There have been rumors about Wayne going abroad, China or America, but we won’t find out until Wayne and his agent have been contacted and whether he feels like he wants to be here or not.” – said Everton’s head coach Sam Allardyce . “At the moment he is an Everton fan as well as an Everton player so I wouldn’t consider anything is on the cards at the moment.“

“It would have to be massive for him to want to leave Everton.” – added Allardyce while dismissing reports that Rooney might be unsatisfied with his role on the team.

Wayne Rooney started his professional career with Everton, where he played in 67 games from 2002 to 2004 while scoring 15 Premiere League goals in that period. He earned himself a transfer to Manchester United in 2004 and went on to become one of the team’s legends. He played in 559 games during his 13 seasons with the team and managed to score 253 in all competitions, becoming United’s all-time scoring leader. Rooney also won numerous trophies with Manchester United, including five national league titles and one UEFA Champions League. In July 2017, he decided to return to Everton.

The post Everton’s Wayne Rooney Agrees on a Deal with D.C. United appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Wayne Rooney has spoken about what Zlatan Ibrahimovic is really like after the Swedish football icon joined LA Galaxy this week for what could be the final chapter of his career.

Ibrahimovic ended his stay at Manchester United last week after terminating his contract with the club by mutual consent.

During his time at Old Trafford, he scored an impressive 29 goals from 53 games before suffering a serious injury last season which only allowed him to make several appearances this term.

Ibrahimovic who enjoys being in the limelight and scoring goals on a regular basis decided to quit the club due to lack of involvement.

Rooney who teamed up with Ibrahimovic at United said: “Good luck to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the next chapter of his career. One of the biggest characters I have played with. Great player and great person. A lion of a man.”

The post Wayne Rooney reveals what Ibrahimovic is really like after striker completes LA Galaxy move appeared first on SportzBonanza.