Wayne Rooney: ‘I’ll never play for another Premier League club’ | Football | The Guardian
Wayne Rooney: ‘I’ll never play for another Premier League club’
• Manchester United forward announces details of testimonial match
• José Mourinho: ‘This game will be a fitting tribute to all he has achieved.’
Wayne Rooney, currently preparing for Euro 2016 with England, is to give all proceeds from his testimonial to four chosen charities. Photograph: Srdjan Suki/EPA
Wednesday 8 June 2016 19.01 EDT
Last modified on Wednesday 8 June 2016 20.09 EDT
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Wayne Rooney says he will not play for any other English club bar Manchester United, discounting the possibility of a late-career move back to Everton, after being given a ringing endorsement from his new manager, José Mourinho, and the encouragement to continue chasing down Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record at Old Trafford.
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Mourinho’s description of Rooney as the outstanding English footballer of his generation – “Wayne is, and has been, England’s best player for over a decade” – is a reminder why the Portuguese tried to sign the striker early in his second spell of managing Chelsea.
Having overtaken Charlton’s scoring record for England, Rooney will now go into his first season under Mourinho’s management at Old Trafford within four goals of pulling alongside the 1966 World Cup winner’s total for the club of 249.
Beyond that, Rooney will contemplate ending his career abroad, with MLS a serious possibility and the prospect of some huge financial offers from China, but the 30-year-old has made a declaration about his future that rules out any chance of returning to Everton , the club where he started his career. “I am happy to say now that, whatever may happen in the future, I will never play for another Premier League club,” Rooney said.
Rooney and Mourinho were speaking at the launch of the Wayne Rooney Foundation, which aims to raise £5m for charity, with all the proceeds from his testimonial against Everton at Old Trafford on 3 August going to the NSPCC, the Claire House children’s hospice, Alder Hey children’s hospital and the Manchester United Foundation. “This game will be a fitting tribute to everything he has achieved,”Mourinho said. “I’m looking forward to what will be a very special night for us both.”