Wayne Rooney has been confirmed as the new manager of MLS side DC United.
The American club are the first team the 36-year-old has taken over since leaving Derby last month, which ended a turbulent 17-month spell during which the English club were marred by financial trouble and relegated to the third tier last season.
Rooney did his best throughout his time with the Rams but in the end, it was not enough, and now faces a new challenge at the bottom of the MLS.
DC are second from bottom in the Eastern Conference after 17 games and sit nine points off the play-off spots with two games in hand. The former Manchester United forward will be tasked with helping the Washington side up the table but those play-off spots might be too far away for the rest of this campaign.
? Welcome back, Wayne ?
The club is excited to announce @WayneRooney as the new head coach of D.C. United.
— D.C. United (@dcunited) July 12, 2022
Rooney returns to Washington after two years, where he spent the same amount of time playing, making 48 appearances for DC United and scoring 23 goals in the MLS. The English manager had been in talks with the MLS club for weeks about taking over reports Sky Sports, and Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan, co-chairmen of D.C. United are delighted to have him back on board.
Speaking about Rooney’s return, the pair stated via Sky Sports: “Wayne is a soccer legend and one of the most exciting and dynamic up-and-coming managers in our sport. He’s already proven in his young coaching career that he knows how to lead a group through adversity,”
“He has an understanding of our league and what it takes to be successful in Major League Soccer thanks to his two-year stay with us as a player. The passion he showed while wearing Black-and-Red electrified our city and our club and we are so excited to welcome him back as our head coach.”