The DC United striker and one of the biggest names in the MLS, Wayne Rooney will leave the US capital at the end of the season. The famous English player will head back home and become the player-coach at Derby county.
Rooney, who has been the team leader in DC, never hide the fact that he would like to be a coach one day, and this situation was something he dreamed about.
“The opportunity to go back home and start the next step of my career in coaching was the factor that made my mind up,”
Rooney stated after revealing the news.
The executives at United had nothing against player’s decision, adding that they completely understand his desire to go back home.
Derby County is currently competing in the Championship, the second tier of the English football. During the previous season, they reached the playoffs for the Premier League promotion under Frank Lampard, but couldn’t move up to the most attractive soccer league in the world.
In the meantime, Lampard left for Chelsea, and former Dutch captain Phillip Cocu took over the managerial role. Rooney will be learning beside him and trying to help the club on field in its attempt to get back to the EPL.
One of the best strikers in the history of Manchester United and the English national team stated that recent developments wouldn’t affect his production at DC United. Rooney claims that his focus will remain the same, and that the goal ahead of him is to bring back the MLS Cup ton Washington.
“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,”
Rooney told the United’s fans.
After the player revealed his intentions to leave DC, the club immediately reacted, and they already contacted two players who might replace the Englishman.
The first one is the 22-year-old Mateo Garcia, a winger from Argentina who is currently contracted to the Spanish team Las Palmas. Allegedly the sum of $3 million is involved in this deal. For the moment, it seems that Las Palmas would agree on this arrangement.
The second player is Ola Kamara, the experienced striker who already played in the MLS. The Norwegian is currently in China, contracted to Shenzhen, but previously appeared for Columbus Crew and LA Galaxy.
In both clubs he posted excellent performances, In 59 matches with Columbus Kamara score 34 goals, while in 31 appearances for the Galaxy he netter 14 times.
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old Rooney played 45 times for DC and scored 25 goals, some of them unforgettable. His wonders against the Orlando Lions will be remembered for a long time. He came to the USA in 2018 and earned the spot in the MLS 2018 starting lineup.
Back home in England, Rooney has been considered as one of the best strikers ever to play for the national team. There is a widely spread opinion that he should have had the place on the roster for the last year’s World Cup tournament in Russia.
