Goodbye, Wayne Rooney: Manchester United Fans Remember Their Favourite Moments
Wayne Rooney has finally left Manchester United. Having earned himself the status as the club's top goalscorer in January and won trophy after trophy, he has decided to take his quickly fading abilities to Everton, as the side announced on Sunday via Twitter. The Red Devils will be better off for his absence.
But we have come to praise Rooney, not to bury him. Bleacher Report spoke to a number of United writers, podcasters and YouTubers to ask them what they would remember about the forward's 13-year career at Old Trafford.
Everyone received the same three questions: their most cherished Rooney game, their most cherished of his many goals and how he would be remembered in five years' time.
Here's what they had to say.
Musa Okwonga: ESPN Columnist
Twitter: @Okwonga
Most cherished Rooney game: The hat-trick on his debut against Fenerbahce in the UEFA Champions League.
From the opening minutes, you just knew it was the beginning of something incredible. When Rooney was on form in those Champions League matches, he seemed to galvanise everyone around him—crowd and team-mates alike.
Most cherished goal? Either the one when he chipped Portsmouth goalkeeper David James in the FA Cup, or the FA Cup volley against Middlesbrough. There was a period of his career when he regularly seemed to score goals that were works of art. Both of these strikes were thrilling pieces of imagination.
As for his time at the club, five years from now, I will remember him as one of the most unselfish forwards English football has seen, with—in his prime—a vision and fearlessness that truly set him apart.
Greg Johnson: Features Editor, Squawka.com
Twitter: @gregianjohnson
Most cherished goal? AC Milan 2007: It had a bit of everything, as these things often do. The awareness and pace of his run to offer the option down the right-hand channel and then the power and precision of his shot to fire it home at the near post was ridiculous.
His time at the club will be remembered as a job well done, regardless of whether some people think it's a job he could have done better. He has won everything and topped the charts for goals scored, and it seems the sacrifices he did make during the tougher years have been forgotten to some extent.
While eyes may now roll when talk turns to his work rate, back in his pomp—when United hardly had a midfield to speak of—he was taking care of creating chances, scoring goals and ensuring the deficiencies in the middle didn't undermine the whole team.
He was the sort of combination player, a footballer of many roles all at once, who would be lauded as the future of the game today. In the future, hopefully his value, besides the statistics, is remembered and understood.
Sam Pilger: Sports Writer and Author
Twitter: @sampilger
My favourite Rooney goal is certainly not the best he scored, but it will remain with me for personal reasons. It was at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal in November 2014 to help secure a 2-1 win for United, offering a false glimmer of hope amid the turgid era of manager Louis van Gaal.
With five minutes remaining, United were leading 1-0 when Angel Di Maria slipped Rooney through to allow him to expertly chip the ball over Wojciech Szczesny to claim three points. Beside me stood my nine-year-old son in the home end surrounded by Arsenal fans. This was a test for him: Could he keep in his celebration and feign disappointment when he wanted to be jumping up and down at the sight of his hero scoring such a decisive goal?
He did not flinch and made his dad proud, allowing us to conceal our smiles as a few minutes later we walked into the north London night.
Most cherished Rooney game? With only minutes remaining, United were heading for defeat in the 2016 FA Cup final, trailing Crystal Palace by a goal when Rooney decided to intervene. He picked the ball up in the centre of the field and made his way past four players before cutting it from the byline for Juan Mata to grab an equaliser and take the game to extra time.
This was the bullish Rooney, the one who would simply not accept defeat. Jesse Lingard scored the winner, but the striker's determined run made it all possible.
How will I look back at Rooney in five years? History will be kind to him. He has scored too many goals and won too many trophies for it to be anything but generous to him. With distance, his legend will grow.
Rooney's achievements will be respected and revered, even if he won't inspire the same sort of blind love as other United greats such as George Best, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane.
Doron Salomon: United fan, former blogger, regular Tweeter
Twitter: @DoronSalomon
For my favourite Rooney game, I'd say his debut. There was so much anticipation and excitement, and then, when it finally happened, no one could have foreseen a hat-trick, particularly in the manner it arrived—a striker's finish, a goal out of nothing and a set piece that showed skill and deftness.
For my favourite goal of his, I'd go with that overhead kick. I know it's an obvious one, and there are some terrific counter-attacking goals, volleys and chips, but that one against Manchester City in the 2010-11 campaign was something else.
Unusually, I was sitting at pitch level, second row, for that game and had a perfect view of it. Despite the fact it seemed to all happen in slow motion at the time, it was only once I was out of the ground and having seen a replay that it hit home how good it was.
People were losing their heads in the stands, complete disbelief at what they'd seen. The improvisation and skill to pull it off are unquestionable. But for me, being there with a perfect view of it down low, where you can really feel the speed of what's going on, it was incredible.
How will I look back on him? That's harder.
Assessing him purely as a footballer, I think he's had an incredibly selfless career at Old Trafford. His peak coincided with United's best team during his spell at the club, and his role in that side was essentially to help get the most out of Cristiano Ronaldo.
His contribution in terms of goals is evidently excellent, and I'm aware how highly regarded he's been as a leader off the pitch for the younger players. He was a fantastic footballer, easily one of the best I've seen in a United shirt.
However, he played on at United for too long, and watching him over his final three or four seasons was quite uncomfortable. On occasions, it clicked, but most of the time he struggled. And ultimately, on a regular basis it cost the side any kind of attacking rhythm.
I'll forever be pleased United signed him and that we got to watch him, but I don't revere him in the same way I do others.
Scott Patterson: Writer, Republik of Mancunia, ESPN
Twitter: @R_o_M
My most cherished Rooney goal was his winner against AC Milan in 2007. That's one of my favourite seasons, and it just felt like we were back. He scored right at the end and just looked totally overwhelmed.
My favourite game is probably when United beat Everton 4-2 in the same season. He played a blinder, and his goal turned the game. His goading of the Toffees fans made it really feel like he was one of us. That was the day we won the league, even if not mathematically, and it was because of him.
In five years' time, it will probably be fairly similar to now but maybe a bit softer. He was a brilliant player for us—at times our most important—but the only reason why he's our record goalscorer is because the club wouldn't let him leave on the two occasions he asked to. So that taints what he achieved.
Ed Barker: Writer and Podcaster, United Rant
Twitter: @unitedrant
Rooney had better games, scored better goals and had more influence, but I still cherish his debut more than most. At Old Trafford, on one of those European nights, he scored a stunning hat-trick. It doesn't get better, does it? Roy of the Rovers stuff. Magic, spine-tingling and why we watch football.
That goal against Manchester City still stands out. For the quality not only of Rooney's strike (ignore the fact he shinned it) but the buildup and final delivery. But also for the opponent, moment and iconic imagery. Six years on and it is probably his finest moment in a United shirt.
It may be that memories of Rooney's double attempt to get out—to Manchester City and Chelsea, of all places—will fade over time. It may be that memories of his horrendous decline over the past four seasons will also be forgotten. It may be that, instead, he is remembered only as United's finest goalscorer and as one of the best players to have performed for the club. It's not binary, though.
It's OK to remember both the good and the bad.
Elijah Sofoluke: Football blogger
Twitter: @MrScripto
The game I would pick is the 5-2 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in 2009. It epitomised Rooney: He was playing out of position for the team and still the best player on the pitch—and the catalyst for the comeback.
My most cherished goal would be his second in 2007 against AC Milan. That was the first time I had seen United in a Champions League semi-final, and winning the game like that was amazing. But mostly it was the celebration and seeing how much it meant to him.
In five years I will look at him as I do now. My favourite United player who could have been even more but was still enough to be a great.
Richard Cann Co-host, Red Voices Podcast
Twitter: @RichardCann76
Choosing a most cherished Rooney game is tough, simply because he has played so many huge games and produced so many wonderful goals, both in terms of technique and importance.
The match I remember most fondly is his debut against Fenerbahce. Having arrived as an 18-year-old for a vast sum (£25.6 million transfer fee), the pressure must have been huge, but it didn't show as he hit a stunning hat-trick.
We knew his potential after his emergence at Everton, but that game confirmed to me and other United fans we had a genius on our hands.
His most cherished goal is much easier to pin down. While his stunning volleyed equaliser in a home win over Newcastle United, powered by anger and frustration, was representative of Rooney as a player, nothing will beat scoring a ridiculous overhead kick at home to win the derby. He has been our real life Roy of the Rovers.
In five years, I think people will view Rooney much as he is, or should be, now: one of the most important and productive players in United's history—a legend in spite of his perceived disloyalty—but also as a genius whose decline started all too soon and who stayed at the club too long.
His departure will bring about a mixture of sentimentality and relief; it's a sad but necessary parting of ways.
Sam Homewood, Television Presenter, YouTuber, CITV, Full Time Devils
Twitter: @SamHomewood
I didn't want to pick his debut, as I'm sure everyone else will, but I have to. To arrive at that age and for that amount of money and then deliver that performance was astonishing.
Most cherished goal is the volley against Newcastle; it was Rooney summed up. Temper, frustration, brilliance and glory. There should also be a shout-out to the last-minute goal against Milan. It was not his best but one I remember fondly.
I really don't know what it will be like to look back at Rooney's career in five years.
Looking back at his early years, it almost feels like the longer he's been at the club, the more he's pulled away. He once celebrated a goal against Everton by kissing the badge, but time has changed everything so dramatically that he's now criticised for "not really getting it". I understand that, but it's a weird situation.
Maybe the transfer requests will be forgotten, and we'll all say we were there when Rooney surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record and we'll sing his name forever.
Or maybe—and I suspect this is what will happen—he'll return to Everton as their ultimate "boy done good," with the bad blood between them completely forgotten. He was never quite Manchester United's, in his or anyone else's heart.
After all, once a blue, always a blue.
Quotations obtained firsthand.
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