Wayne Rooney played a key role on the BBC’s Match of the Day this season, but the Manchester Untied legend appears ready to part ways with the marquee football show.
Wayne Rooney is reportedly ready to return to management (Image: Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney is reportedly prepared to ignore Match of the Day and return to the world of football management despite having a £400,000-a-year deal with the BBC. The Manchester United legend is said to have revealed his plans at his wife’s 40th birthday celebrations earlier this week.
The former England striker has been active in the media since 2024, when he left Plymouth Argyle following a string of poor performances, and has already held managerial positions at Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City. According to The Sun, Rooney was awarded a two-year contract with the BBC on a staggering £400,000 annual salary after impressing management.
But it is now believed that he is ready to return to the world of football management with another team in the Championship or League One. A source told the publication: “Wayne enjoys working in television but would like to return to management.
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“If the right opportunity comes along he will be open to it. Ideally he will get something at the beginning of the summer and be in a position for the start of the season in August.”
After a glittering playing career that spanned Everton, Manchester United, DC United and Derby, Rooney entered the world of football management with the latter in 2020. However, Rooney, 40, ultimately resigned from the role after it emerged the Rams would be relegated to League One at the end of 2021/22.
Rooney then returned to DC United in the summer of 2022, replacing Hernán Lozada, but left the club the following year after missing the play-offs for the second consecutive season. Rooney signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Birmingham City in October 2023, but Rooney lasted less than three months, winning just two of 15 games and was sacked, replaced by Tony Mowbray.
Wayne Rooney will no longer be involved in management from December 2024 (Image: PA)
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Rooney then played for Plymouth Argyle for seven months from May to December 2024, before eventually leaving the club by mutual agreement with the club sitting bottom of the Championship and four points from safety. He has not yet returned to club management.
It comes after Rooney recently made a strong start to his role as interim head coach at the club, following Michael Carrick’s verdict that he is looking to take over permanently at Old Trafford in 2026-27. “100 per cent he should[get the job],” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I knew this was going to happen with Michael Carrick. I know him very well, I know his character and his character.
“We needed a cool head, but we needed someone who knew the field. The players needed love and he gave it to them.
“I’ve seen the players playing better quality and coming together more as a team, and we look like a very strong team. Why would we change?”
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