Moyes reveals Sir Alex Ferguson role in Rooney’s United transfer | OneFootball

Everton boss David Moyes has revealed legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s key role in securing the signature of Wayne Rooney in the summer of 2004. The Red Devils have been home to some iconic English talents during the course of their history, and Rooney’s explosive emergence at Everton had forced them to take note.

The fiery Englishman, still a teenager at that time, had broken into the Toffees starting XI in the 2002/03 campaign, registering eight goals in 37 games. Wazza stepped up a gear the following campaign, scoring nine times and setting up four more in 40 appearances.

Amid rising interest in his signature from across the country, United won the race and it soon proved to be a masterstroke.

Rooney spent 13 seasons at Old Trafford, registering 253 goals and 143 assists, and becoming the club’s record goalscorer. He won 16 trophies with the Red Devils, including five Premier League titles and one Champions League. Moyes has now spilled the beans on Wazza’s move to the Theatre of Dreams.

Wayne Rooney: Trophies won with United

Source: Wikipedia.

Sir Alex was determined to see Rooney at United

Rooney broke into the Toffees’ senior side under Moyes’ watch before catching the eye of Sir Alex. Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the Everton boss said that the legendary manager was relentless in his pursuit of the Englishman.

Moyes said: “I never wanted Wayne to leave. The worst was the guy I had looked up to so much, Sir Alex Ferguson, phoned me and said he wanted to meet me at Haydock Thistle Hotel. I was wondering what was that he wanted.”

“I got there and there was a room booked and he came in and said, ‘I want Rooney’. I said, ‘No, he is not for sale. No chance, I am not selling him’. He said, ‘OK, that’s fine but you are not letting him go to Chelsea or anywhere else?’ – and I said, ‘no chance’. He said that was fine and left it at that to be fair. He was very straight with me because I told him I didn’t want Wayne to go.”

However, Moyes revealed that Sir Alex was soon back with another offer for Rooney, adding: “Three or four weeks later I get another call and Ferguson said, ‘I want to meet you are at the same place again because I want Wayne and things have moved on’.”

Rooney’s rise at Euro 2004 convinced United

Rooney revealed that Sir Alex was initially willing to wait for another year, but his performances at Euro 2004 forced the legendary manager to accelerate his plans. Wazza added: “Alex Ferguson wanted to wait a year.”

“He wanted to wait another year and then because I’d done so well at the Euros, it was just basically everyone was starting to get in ahead of the other one, then it became inevitable that I was gonna go that summer.”

The Englishman scored four goals in four games at Euro 2004, before suffering a broken foot against Portugal in the quarter-finals. The Three Lions lost the game on penalties and bowed out of the tournament, but Rooney had done enough by then to secure a move to Old Trafford.

Final Thoughts

United once boasted two of the best young footballers in the world in Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, who rubbed shoulders for five seasons and helped the club reach the pinnacle of success. INEOS have also introduced a youth-centric transfer policy of late as they look to get the Red Devils back to their glory days.

Featured image Richard Heathcote via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social