Manchester United legend and current Derby County boss Wayne Rooney has said that every step he takes in management is with the dream of taking over at Old Trafford one day.
21 points were docked off Championship side Derby this season just because of the club entering administration. Despite Rooney’s best efforts in steering the ship towards safety, they are at the bottom of the points table and have 25 points with only seven games left to play this season.
It will be interesting to see whether England’s record goal-scorer (53) manages to keep the club afloat and avoid relegation. If he succeeds, it will no doubt be a humongous achievement, which will put him on the radar of many top clubs. But Rooney has his heart set for only one team: Manchester United, which he represented between 2004 and 2017.
At a black-tie event in Manchester, the highest goal-scorer for the club (253) admitted that he wishes to manage the club one day.
“The whole reason in me going into management is Manchester United. I got offered the job interview for the Everton job.”
“I want to be Manchester United manager. I know I am not ready now but I have to plan everything I do to make sure one day it will happen,”
he said.
The 36-year-old said that in January, he had turned down an interview from boyhood club Everton, who have been struggling this season. The Toffees finally appointed Frank Lampard, but they are only three points away from the relegation zone at the moment.
During his 13-year spell at United, Rooney won 16 major trophies, including five Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup. He also enjoyed successful spells back at Everton, MLS club DC United and Derby, where he retired and took over as a permanent manager in January 2021.
United have been taking interviews for the managerial hotseat that will be vacated this summer when interim coach Ralf Rangnick’s term comes to an end. Ajax boss Erik ten Hag and out-of-favour PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino are the favourites to land the job as things currently stand.
