Who is Wayne Rooney?

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player. Widely considered one of the best players of his generation, Rooney is the record goalscorer for both the England national team and Manchester United.

Rooney joined the Everton youth team at the age of nine and made his professional debut for the club in 2002 at the age of 16. Rooney made his senior international debut for England in February 2003, aged 17, and is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. Rooney later featured at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and was widely regarded as his country's best player.

Due to his precocious displays as a teenager, Wayne Rooney was given the nicknames "Wazza", The Wonder Boy", "the new Pelé", and "the white Pelé".

Despite his reputation as one of the best players of his generation, and as one of England's greatest ever players and all-time leading goalscorer, Rooney was criticised for his behaviour and aggression on the pitch at times, which led him to pick up unnecessary bookings. In 2015, "The Daily Telegraph" placed Rooney at number 14 in their list of "The top 20 overrated football players of all time.