Manchester United legend future manager As Rooney And Ronaldo Present Speech

Wayne Rooney has made a promising start to a career in management and his ultimate ambition is to coach Man United.

          Manchester United legend future manager As Rooney And Ronaldo Present Speech

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo formed a world-class partnership for Manchester United in the 2007/2008 season.

The pair contributed 60 goals and 22 assists between them and Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or at the end of that campaign, but the Portuguese international wouldn’t stay at Old Trafford for much longer and left for Real Madrid a year later.

Rooney and Ronaldo went their separate ways and their eventual paths couldn’t have been more different, as one player retired from playing in 2021 while the other is still competing in Saudi Arabia at the age of 38 years old.

Ronaldo is eight months older than Rooney, but it’s the younger of the pair that’s already moved into management. The 37-year-old is the current manager of D.C. United and his time in America came after an almost two-year spell with Derby County

Rooney played for Everton, D.C. United and Derby after leaving United in 2017 and he became player-manager of the Rams in December 2020 with the club at the bottom of the Championship table and struggling financially.

Against the odds, Derby eventually survived relegation by the skin of their teeth, but Rooney was lauded for taking on such a challenge and galvanising a squad that looked destined for the drop before he took charge.

In the 2021/22 season after that, he was forced to extinguish fires at Pride Park as Derby had entered administration. The club had been given a 21-point deduction and that was ultimately a penalty too great to contend with.

Although taking the club down, Rooney still won admirers that season because his team finished just seven points adrift from safety, which meant they would have comfortably stayed up if not facing such a significant deduction.

“It’s a sad day. I’m sad, disappointed, upset, frustrated, but proud,” Rooney said after Derby’s relegation was confirmed. “I think the effort the lads and the staff have put in to try and galvanise the squad and the club, it’s been a lot of work put in.

“I’ve been in football a long time as a player and now in management and to see that reaction when a club’s been relegated, I’ve never seen it. So the fans know what everyone’s trying to do here and it’s a weird feeling.”

Rooney resigned as manager that summer and agreed to return to the States to manage his former club D.C United and although the American outfit continued to struggle in his first season, they have fared better in this campaign.

“I just think the hard work that we’ve put in over the last few months, and every player knows their roles when they come into the team. We’re very organised and hard to beat,” said Rooney in May about the team’s improvement.

“I think that’s showing in our performances in performing at a consistent level, and we’ve been unfortunate in the last two games to not come away with three points in both of them. So that’s a bit frustrating, but I’m pleased with how it’s going and with the performances. And we know that if we keep performing the way that we are then we’ll pick up a lot more points.”

There are seven games remaining in the MLS season, but reports on Thursday suggested Rooney is now under consideration at Birmingham City, who were recently subject to a takeover from ambitious American owners.

“You’re always tempted,” Rooney told The Athletic in July when asked about returning to England and interest from Everton. “It’s a club I love and want to do well. You look at it, you think of it… Is it the right time to do that?

“What’s the impact if you go in and don’t have the impact you feel you can? But on the flip side, what’s the impact if you go in and really develop the club? I felt it wasn’t the right time over the last year or two.

“But if anything like that comes up in future, what I’ve built at Derby and DC United is all a development to help me make that decision easier. The stadium is coming and there needs to be some change to try and get that club back to where it can be.”

Rooney has been regularly linked to the Everton vacancy when it’s been available, but he said last year ‘the only reason’ he got into management was to manage Manchester United, which he ‘will make happen’ in the future.

Erik ten Hag is currently in charge at Old Trafford and there’s no sign of his reign coming to an end anytime soon, but perhaps in the future, Rooney’s ambition could be realised, providing he continues to make progress in management.

You’d be brave to bet against the fiercely driven Rooney not accomplishing what he set out to achieve.