Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has hilariously revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson’s first attempt to sign him for the Red Devils didn’t go to plan.
The former England international, who would go on to become Man Utd’s all-time leading goal-scorer and win multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League in his time at Old Trafford, was first approached by the club when he was just 14 years of age.
Rooney did not want to leave Everton at that time, and made that perfectly clear when Ferguson called up his parents to discuss a transfer.
Speaking at an event this week, Rooney opened up on some hilarious anecdotes from his playing career, and mocked a few of his old team-mates such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand.
On Ferguson’s first approach to sign him, he said: “Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign me when I was 14. He was on the phone to my mum and dad.
“They said, ‘Alex is on the phone, Manchester United want to sign you’. I said, ‘Tell him to f*** off. I want to play for Everton’.
“Then, as time went on, I knew I had to play for Alex Ferguson. The reason I signed for United was Alex Ferguson.”
Rooney made a name for himself at Everton when he was just 16 years of age, becoming the youngest ever goal-scorer in the Premier League at the time.
He ended up moving to United when he was 18, which looks in hindsight to have been the best decision, as he was already an established star when he arrived in Manchester.
Had Rooney moved as a 14-year-old, he might’ve found it harder to get those early opportunities in a United team full of so many superstars.