Born on 24 October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside,
Rooney is the first child of parents of Irish descent Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Marie
Rooney (ne Morrey). He was raised in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John, and all three attended De La Salle School. Wayne grew up supporting local club Everton, and his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson.
After excelling for Liverpool Schoolboys,
Rooney was signed on schoolboy terms by Everton at the age of ten. He was part of the youth squad, and after scoring in an FA Youth Cup match, he revealed a T-shirt under his jersey that read, "Once a Blue, always a Blue." Since he was under 17 at the time and therefore ineligible for a professional contract, he was playing for 80 a week and living with his family on one of the country's most deprived council estates.
On 19 October 2002, five days before his 17th birthday,
Rooney scored a match-winning goal against reigning league champions Arsenal; in addition to ending Arsenal's thirty-match unbeaten run, it made
Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice; first by James Milner and then by James Vaughan. He was named BBC Sports' 2002 Young Personality of the Year. He played 33 Premier League games that season and scored six goals.
At the end of the 2003-04 season,
Rooney, citing Everton's inability to challenge for European competition (they had finished seventh the previous season and only just missed out on a UEFA Cup place, but in 2003-04 had narrowly avoided relegation and finished 17th), requested a transfer that Everton refused to oblige if the transfer fee was less than 50 million. A three-year, 12,000-a-week contract offer from the club was snubbed by
Rooney's agent in August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete for his signature. The Times reported that Newcastle were close to signing
Rooney for 18.5 million, as confirmed by
Rooney's agent, but Manchester United ultimately won the bidding war and Rooney signed at the end of the month after a 25.6 million deal with Everton was reached. At the time of his sale Everton were struggling financially with a significant debt and the deal helped turn the clubs finances around.
It was the highest fee ever paid for a player aged under 20.
Rooney was still only 18 years old when he left Everton.
In his final season at Everton, he scored eight goals in 34 Premier League games.
On 1 September 2006, Everton manager David Moyes sued
Rooney for libel after the tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail published excerpts from
Rooney's 2006 autobiography that accused the coach of leaking
Rooney's reasons for leaving the club to the press. The case was settled out of court for 500,000 on 3 June 2008, and
Rooney apologized to Moyes for "false claims" he had made in the book regarding the matter.
Since 2004
Rooney being treated for his broken foot
Rooney made his United debut on 28 September 2004 in a 6-2 Champions League group stage win over Fenerbahe, scoring a hat-trick along with an assist. However, his first season at Old Trafford ended trophyless as United could only manage a third place finish in the league (having been champions or runners-up on all but two previous occasions since 1992) and failed to progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League. United had more success in the cup competitions, but were edged out of the League Cup in the semi finals by a Chelsea side who also won the Premier League title that season, and a goalless draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup final was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat. However,
Rooney was United's top league scorer that season with 11 goals, and was credited with the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
