The personal upheaval involved in a transfer is often forgotten in the maelstrom of football.
Manchester United signed 18-year-old Wayne Rooney in 2004 and manager Alex Ferguson can’t have hoped for it to work out any better. Together, they won the Premier League five times and the Champions League in 2008. Rooney became Man United’s record goal scorer.
But these things can come at a cost. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Rooney’s wife Coleen revealed the extent of the angry response to Wayne’s move from Everton to Old Trafford.
Vandals damaged the Rooneys’ home after Man United move
Coleen Rooney appeared on the latest episode of Stick to Football and told Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright about the unacceptable personal cost of her future husband’s switch to Manchester.
“Our house got spray painted everywhere and there was smashed windows in cars,” she revealed. “We literally took ourselves and moved because Sir Alex Ferguson said that he wanted us out of Liverpool.”
“But it was our families that got the backlash then and that wasn’t fair.”
Rooney’s success on the pitch was immediate but the reaction of some supporters in his home town was as upsetting as it was pathetic.
“Wayne never went into Liverpool for a while after that, to get food or go shopping, because people would just shout stuff,” said Coleen.
“It was tough, but it was worth it for him because he went on to win and seize the lead goal scorer. We had some fantastic times there.”
Wayne, who is ranked at number four in FourFourTwo‘s list of the best Premier League strikers of all time, scored 253 goals for the Red Devils and was also England’s record scorer before Harry Kane surpassed him in 2023. He returned to Everton in 2017 before joining DC United and then Derby County. His last two clubs as a player became his first two in management.
Coleen has been at the forefront of public attention in recent months thanks to highly publicised legal proceedings and a popular appearance on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
Looking back on her move to Manchester with Wayne in 2004, Coleen explained his motivations.
“Everton is his club and he loved it, still does. But Manchester United is a massive club. All she wanted to do was win trophies. He saw players in the past stay with their childhood clubs and not go on to win anything.
“For him, it was hard, but he stood his ground and wanted to leave.”