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Wayne Rooney

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   Wayne Rooney
                Personal information
   Date of birth     October 24, 1985 (1985-10-24)
   Place of birth    Liverpool, England
   Height            1.78  m (5  ft 10  in)
   Playing position  Striker
                  Club information
   Current club      Manchester United
   Number            8
                    Youth clubs
   2000–2002         Everton
                   Senior clubs^1
   Years             Club              App (Gls)*
   2002–2004
   2004–             Everton
                     Manchester United 67 (15)
                                       97 (41)
                  National team^2
   2003–             England           38 (12)

   ^1 Senior club appearances and goals
   counted for the domestic league only and
   correct as of 14:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC).
   ^2 National team caps and goals correct
   as of 21:19, 28 March 2007 (UTC).
   * Appearances (Goals)

   Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool) is an English
   footballer who currently plays for the English Premier League club
   Manchester United and the England national team. He is seen as one of
   the most exciting prospects of the modern game and is the most
   expensive teenager in world football. Rooney is a highly talented
   player with remarkable technique, vision, passing and finishing, and is
   one of those players capable of scoring wonder goals, his shots are
   believed to be the most powerful in the English Premier League. He
   normally played as a second striker to Ruud van Nistelrooy for his club
   team before van Nistelrooy's move to Real Madrid, although during
   2005-06, he showed his versatility as a player by shifting to the
   midfield and playing on both flanks. He wears the number 8 shirt for
   Manchester United and the number 9 shirt for the English national team.

   Rooney was brought up in an urban area of eastern Liverpool called
   Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended the local De La Salle
   Catholic School.

   Rooney grew up supporting Everton, and wore a T-shirt reading "Once a
   blue, Always a blue". However, he would end up playing just two seasons
   with Everton before demanding, and then executing, a transfer. This has
   left him on unfavourable terms with Everton fans, as they showed when
   he returned to Goodison Park and he was booed severely.

   Rooney has been under an intense media spotlight since first arriving
   on the scene in 2002, particularly coming to the public's notice on 19
   October 2002 when he scored a memorable goal against title-holders
   Arsenal, ending their 30-match unbeaten run. Receiving the ball on the
   edge of the 18-yard box, Rooney brought it down with instant control
   and turned away from his marker before firing it into the top left-hand
   corner of the goal, beating England keeper David Seaman and giving
   Everton a late 2-1 victory at Goodison Park. This goal provoked Clive
   Tyldesley, the match commentator, to exclaim 'remember the name, Wayne
   Rooney'. Rooney gained a huge reputation on the world stage due to his
   performance at Euro 2004, as he spearheaded the English attack, scoring
   four goals, eclipsing fellow England team mate Michael Owen. England
   fans knew that with such an outrageously talented player like Rooney,
   they had a chance to win the tournament, but Rooney was unable to play
   for the whole of the quarter-final game against Portugal due to injury
   and England were knocked out in a penalty shoot-out. Rooney appears on
   the cover of the FIFA 06 and FIFA 07 video game in the United Kingdom.

Career

Everton

   After excelling for Liverpool Schoolboys and The Dynamo Brownwings,
   Rooney was signed by Everton shortly before his 11th birthday. Rooney
   gained national prominence on the 19th of October 2002 when he became
   the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League at 16
   years and 360 days while playing for Everton (though this record has
   since been surpassed twice by James Milner and current record holder
   James Vaughan). His goal against then-champions Arsenal was a
   last-minute winner and brought to an end the London side's 30-match
   unbeaten run. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Young
   Personality of the Year.

Transfer

   Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a professional contract, he
   was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on a council
   estate. His salary has since been increased several times and Rooney
   now earns an estimated £51,755 a week. Following intense media coverage
   of Rooney at Euro 2004, Everton claimed that they would not transfer
   his contract for less than £50 million. The club offered Rooney a new
   contract for £12,000 a week for three years. This, however, was turned
   down by Rooney's agent on the 27 August 2004, leaving Manchester United
   and Newcastle United to compete for his signature.

   The Times newspaper reported that Newcastle were close to signing the
   young star for £18.5 million, a fact later confirmed by Rooney's agent.
   Manchester United, however, were the successful club in signing the
   young talent. Rooney handed in a transfer request to Everton and on 31
   August 2004, Rooney signed for Manchester United after a deal worth
   around £31 million (£49 million including wages) was agreed. The deal
   was concluded just hours before the transfer deadline.

   The initial fee of £23m was paid to Everton over two years; the rest of
   the money depends on appearances and/or success at Manchester United
   and/or England. It is likely the fee will reach the maximum £31m within
   the next 3 years. A final fee in the region of £30m plus costs is more
   likely. In the club's 2004-05 accounts, Rooney's contract is recorded
   as having a book cost of £25.066 million as at 30 June 2005, with
   contingent payables of £14 million, giving a maximum final fee of
   £39.066 million including costs.

   Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an exclusively British
   deal, with only his Manchester United team-mate, Rio Ferdinand,
   commanding a higher fee. Rooney does, however, have the honour of being
   the most expensive teenage footballer ever, being only 18 when
   Manchester United signed him.

Manchester United

   Rooney made his debut for Manchester United on 28 September 2004 in the
   UEFA Champions League against Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and also
   an assist (the match finished in a 6-2 win for United). For the 2005-06
   season, Rooney initially started playing in wider positions than his
   more favoured central role. Pundits and fans alike agreed that he
   seemed less effective in such positions. Eventually, after Manchester
   United's poor run of form early in the season, Sir Alex Ferguson moved
   him back to his stronger position, playing behind Dutchman Ruud van
   Nistelrooy as a second striker. He got his first professional Winners
   Medal in the 2006 English League Cup. He was also named Man of the
   Match in the League Cup final against Wigan Athletic, after scoring two
   goals in the final (a 4-0 victory for United), en route to winning his
   first senior medal. He was also a member of the United side defeated in
   the 2005 FA Cup Final by Arsenal. He captained Manchester United for
   the first time in a home Champions League match against Copenhagen on
   17 October 2006, becoming probably the youngest captain in the clubs'
   history. On 26 November 2006 he signed a two-year extension to his
   contract, which will keep him at Old Trafford until at least 2012; the
   contract extension negotiations only took one month, which was
   interpreted as showing how keen both sides were to conclude the
   extension.

   Wayne Rooney has been a prolific goal scorer for Manchester United and
   Everton, matching the level of goals scored by other strikers such as
   Ruud van Nistelrooy. Also, he is a regular assist contributor. In the
   2005-2006 season he achieved a final total of 14 assists and 16 goals,
   fewer goals than his current strike partner Louis Saha, but more
   assists.

   During the first half of the 2006-7 season, Rooney went 10 games
   without a goal before scoring a hat-trick against Bolton. There was
   speculation about his fitness and confidence on the pitch, as he seemed
   less active than he usually is and his presence on the field was
   somewhat overshadowed by the brilliant form of Portuguese winger
   Cristiano Ronaldo, although it is worth saying that Rooney is far from
   the sensational player he's been for Man united during the last two
   seasons (In which he was the main force and influnce of the team, much
   like what Cristiano Ronaldo is now). Rooney's scoring rate had been
   matched by Louis Saha and exceeded by Cristiano Ronaldo, a winger.
   Nevertheless, as of February 2007 he was the top English goalscorer in
   the Premiership, and had received significantly fewer bookings than in
   previous seasons. In the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth, Rooney came on
   as a substitute and scored two goals, one of which being a superb
   25-yard chip over goalkeeper David James, and soon after scored two of
   United's four goals in the derby against Bolton. Despite getting back
   on the score sheet, Rooney's form was considerably lower than that of
   the previous seasons, as he seemed less active on the field, and his
   uncanny abilities to beat defenders were not demonstrated frequently,
   as he barely attempts to dribble past an opposing player and usually
   prefers to pass the ball, it was difficult to tell if Rooney had
   actually changed his playing style or if he hasn't regained his form
   after the injury he picked up prior to the 2006 world cup, along with
   facing early problems in the season after being sent off in a
   pre-season friendly against FC Porto which added to Rooney's already
   bad record with FIFA after he stepped on Ricardo Carvalho and pushed
   United team mate Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2006 world cup, since
   those two incidents, Rooney added more discipline to his game (which
   might explain why he doesn't seem as confident as he usually is).
   Rooney scored his first goal for two-and-a-half years in Europe in a
   2-1 defeat to A.S. Roma on 4 April 2007, and his second (with the third
   goal of the night) in the quarter final second leg at Old Trafford on
   10 April 2007, when United defeated Roma 7-1. His scoring form
   continued in the Champions League semi-final first leg on 24 April
   2007, when he scored two goals in the 3-2 victory over A.C. Milan, the
   second a low first-time drive into the bottom right-hand corner in the
   91st minute after a Ryan Giggs counter attack and pass. On 28 April
   2007, Rooney was the hero once again as he completed United's comeback
   from 0-2 down to win 4-2 away to Everton, scoring his team's third
   goal. By the end of April, Rooney had scored 23 goals for his team in
   all competitions (which takes him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in goals
   scored in all competitions this season, although the latter has scored
   more Premiership goals), a remarkable record for a player who missed
   the opening games of the season through suspension, suffered a dip in
   form and a goal drought for 10 games.

National team career

   Rooney playing for England
   Rooney playing for England

   He has also figured prominently in recent England international
   matches, after having become the youngest ever player to play for
   England, in a friendly against Australia, on 12 February 2003, aged 17
   years, 111 days. This record has since been surpassed by Theo Walcott,
   who came off the bench to play in England's friendly against Hungary on
   30 May 2006. England's youngest ever player previous to Rooney was
   James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who made his debut almost one
   and a quarter centuries before, on 5 April 1879, aged 17 years, 253
   days. Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317
   days).

   His reputation as one of the world's most exciting young players was
   further enhanced by his highly regarded performances for England at
   Euro 2004 in Portugal. At the tournament Rooney became the youngest
   player ever to score in the UEFA European Football Championships, when
   on 17 June 2004 he scored twice against Switzerland; although the Swiss
   player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record against France four days
   later. Unfortunately Rooney was injured early in the quarter final
   match against Portugal and England were subsequently knocked out on
   penalties.

2004 Court Case

   In and around 2002 there was a dispute between two groups over who had
   the right to manage Rooney and this led to a criminal trial after
   allegations that one side was trying to demand money with menaces from
   the other. The court was told that one group sought the help of the
   infamous London gangster Tommy Adams in resolving the dispute.

Disciplinary issues

   Wayne Rooney's career has been tainted with moments of ill-discipline.
   In September 2005, against Northern Ireland, Rooney launched an
   on-field outburst at former England captain David Beckham, but since
   then the pair have played down the bust-up.

   His ill-discipline led to his dismissal in the 0-0 draw with Villarreal
   during United's Champions League encounter in Spain. Rooney was sent
   off for dissent following his sarcastic applauding of the referee, Kim
   Milton Nielsen, after he was initially booked for what he felt was an
   unfair booking.

   Rooney has pledged to keep his temper under control and both his club
   and international managers have defended him, citing his youth as the
   main reason for his behaviour. It is known that other teams and players
   are familiar with Rooney's disciplinary problems and sometimes use them
   against him, teasing him or provoking him. Since the 2004-05 season he
   has been trying to keep his temper in check, as shown by a drop in
   cards received in the 2005-06 season. In the 2006 World Cup
   quarter-final match with Portugal, Rooney was sent off after an
   incident during the 62nd minute of the match. He became only the third
   English player to be given a red card while playing a match in a World
   Cup Finals. Rooney was struggling to gain proper control of the ball as
   he was involved in a tangle with Ricardo Carvalho and Petit, during
   which he appeared to stamp on Carvalho's groin. The incident occurred
   right in front of Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo. As play was
   stopped, Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo, a fellow teammate of his
   at Manchester United, remonstrated with the referee. Rooney then pushed
   Ronaldo and was shown the red card for what was thought to be a
   combination of the incidents involving Carvalho and Ronaldo. However,
   on 4 July, Elizondo told The Times that the red card was due to the
   stamp on Carvalho, and not the scuffle afterwards. He said "It was
   violent play and therefore he got a red card. People can say what they
   want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence. For me it
   was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players."

   After the match, which England lost on penalties, the BBC pundit team,
   led by Gary Lineker, showed a clip of what they found interesting in
   light of Rooney's dismissal. Before the match, Rooney's Manchester
   United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo approached him from behind and
   aggressively placed his head close to Rooney before speaking directly
   into his ear. Rooney's reaction and the look on Ronaldo's face
   suggested that the act was far from playful. Following Rooney's
   dismissal, Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portuguese bench. Cristiano
   Ronaldo said in a post-match press conference that he had not urged the
   referee to take out a red card, but just pointed out that Rooney had
   committed a foul.

   On 3 July, Rooney released a statement saying, "I bear no ill feeling
   to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I
   suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion
   we were not team-mates." He also claimed that his actions were
   accidental. He also defended his own actions in the statement: "I want
   to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my
   foot down on Ricardo Carvalho. He slid in from behind me and
   unfortunately ended up in a positioning where my foot was inevitably
   going to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it. When
   the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked."

   Wayne Rooney was investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee after
   being sent off during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat against
   Portugal, banned for two competitive matches and fined 5,000 Swiss
   francs.

   Rooney was sent off again for Manchester United in an Amsterdam
   Tournament game against FC Porto on 4 August 2006 for the alleged use
   of an elbow, and was subsequently handed a three-match ban by the FA
   following their receipt of a 23-page report from referee Ruud Bossen
   explaining why he felt it was necessary to send Rooney off in the
   aforementioned game. This was viewed as surprising, as other players
   sent off in pre-season friendly matches were not so sanctioned, and
   Rooney wrote to the FA threatening to withdraw the FA's permission to
   use his image rights if the ban was not revoked - however the FA has no
   procedure to do so.

   Though not related to on-field action, there were reports by British
   media that Rooney punched Blackburn Rovers' Michael Gray on 2 September
   2006. The alleged incident that happened inside a Manchester restaurant
   was a result of suggestive comments by Gray towards Rooney's fiancée
   Coleen McLoughlin. Police were not informed about the incident.

   On 24 November 2006, Wayne Rooney was questioned by the police over a
   fight outside a Manchester nightclub. This supposedly happened when a
   photographer started hassling Rooney. The photographer did not need any
   medical treatment.

Personal life

   Rooney is one of three sons of Wayne, Sr, and Jeanette Rooney, his
   brothers being Graham and John. He didn't achieve a single GCSE.

   He has rarely been out of the media spotlight since his goal against
   Arsenal in October 2002, and has received criticism for his
   relationship with fiancée Coleen McLoughlin, who is often featured in
   the tabloid press for her shopping habits. They currently live in a
   £4.25 million mansion in the village of Prestbury in Cheshire. When he
   moved to Manchester United and was told to find a home in the posh area
   of Cheshire, Rooney passed a pub which he thought was named "Admiral
   Rooney" and saw it as a good omen for his future home. It was actually
   " Admiral Rodney", but Rooney chose the place, Prestbury, anyway
   (kicker, April 18, 2006, p. 79-80). He also owns property in Marbella
   and Harbour Pointe, Port Charlotte, Florida.

   Rooney has also lucrative contracts with Nike, Nokia, Ford, Asda and
   Coca Cola. His marketing value is estimated at €46 million, making him
   the third-highest rated football player behind Ronaldinho and David
   Beckham.As a side note, he was featured on 500 million Coca-Cola cans
   during the 2006 World Cup. Regarding his private life, Rooney's
   favourite rappers are Eminem and 50 Cent. His favourite film is Grease,
   and his favourite TV series is Only Fools And Horses. Moreover, he is
   an avid reader of the Harry Potter series. He enjoys boxing, and
   idolises Mike Tyson. (kicker, April 18, 2006, p. 79-80).

   Rooney was "Merk'd" along with other England teammates (the equivalent
   to the American TV Show "Punk'd") by his Manchester United and England
   team mate, Rio Ferdinand on a mini-series TV show build up to the World
   Cup, "World Cup Wind Ups". This comical scenario left Wayne holding a
   drip for a young Manchester United fan's dog.

   In his spare time, Wayne likes to play video games, his favourite game
   is FIFA 07, which he plays with Man United teammates Wes Brown, John
   O'Shea and Rio Ferdinand.

Visits to prostitutes

   Rooney's personal life has also often been marred by accusations from
   the press surrounding his visits to prostitutes, which he later
   confirmed to be true. Rooney has spoken of his deep regret at the
   incident. On 29 January 2007 a case was dismissed where by Patricia
   Tierney, 52, from Whiston, had claimed libel damages against The Sun
   newspaper. Tierney said an article from 2004 had featured "horrible
   lies" about her working as a prostitute at Diva's massage parlour in
   Liverpool, and that she had sex with Rooney; had resultantly destroyed
   her reputation and life. However, in the police statement taken at the
   time she said she worked as a sex worker because she needed the money,
   but kept her job a secret from her family. Her solicitors withdrew from
   the case, and Tierney who had represented herself at Manchester County
   Court, asked the judge, Mr Justice Christopher Clarke, to adjourn the
   hearing while she sought alternative legal representation. Tierney told
   the court she could not read, the police statement misrepresented what
   she had told the officer and that she did not know what she was
   signing. Mr Justice Clarke dismissed the case, saying in his ruling:
   "In light of that statement, it's plain that the central plank of the
   claimant's case that she was not, and never had been, a prostitute and
   worked only as a receptionist is not true, and that the claim that she
   was not a liar was false and was known to be so." The Sun's barrister,
   Anthony Hudson, said Tierney's claim amounted to between £750,000 and
   £250,000 damages for her and £500,000 legal fees, which the Sun would
   have had to pay if she won her case..

Press accusations

   In April 2006, newspapers suggested that he owed in excess of £700,000
   in gambling debts, possibly connected to a business partner of Michael
   Owen. Days later, he accepted £100,000 (which he donated to charity) in
   libel damages from The Sun and News of the World newspapers which had
   claimed he had assaulted his fiancée in a nightclub.

   In September 2006, Rooney was again at a the centre of controversy,
   accused of punching Michael Gray in the eye following provocation from
   the Blackburn defender.

Books and website

   On 9 March 2006, Rooney signed the largest sports book deal in
   publishing history with the publishers HarperCollins. He is to receive
   a £5 million advance, plus royalties, for a minimum of five books to be
   published over a twelve-year period. The first book, My Story So Far, a
   ghost-written autobiography, was scheduled to be published after the
   World Cup. On 1 September 2006 Everton manager David Moyes started a
   libel action against the Daily Mail, which was publishing extracts of
   Rooney's book and threatened to also sue Rooney and his book publishers
   over statements made in the book concerning the circumstances of
   Rooney's leaving Everton.

   In July 2006, Rooney's lawyers went to the United Nations' World
   Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to gain ownership of the
   internet domain names "waynerooney.com" and "waynerooney.co.uk", which
   Welsh television actor Huw Marshall had registered in 2002. In October
   2006, the WIPO ruled that "waynerooney.com" should be handed over to
   Rooney.

Career stats

   (Correct as of 24 April 2007)
   Club Season League Cup Europe Total
   Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals
   Assists
   Everton F.C. 2002–03 33 6 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 37 8 4
   2003–04 34 9 3 6 0 - 0 0 0 40 9 3
   Manchester United 2004–05 29 11 4 8 3 - 6 3 1 43 17 4
   2005–06 36 16 10 7 2 4 5 1 0 48 19 14
   2006–07 31 14 13 7 5 3 11 4 0 49 23 16
   Total 215 76 40
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Rooney"
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