News 8 October 2015
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Author: Jaik Fenton

5 things we learned from Wayne Rooney’s BBC documentary

Author Jaik Fenton
8 October 2015
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Monday night saw the BBC bring an in-depth look into England and Man Utd captain Wayne Rooney’s life to our screens.

Littered with interviews coming from star players and managers, ranging from Cristiano Ronaldo to Sir Alex Ferguson, we got to see a different side to the nation’s all-tine leading goalscorer.

In what was an interesting watch, we thought we would give you five things that we learned from the documentary.

 

1. Played football with his mates on the street after wonder goal against Arsenal

Everybody knows about the goal that put Rooney onto the global stage, if not, then you should. Having secured a last-minute winner against Arsenal for Everton at the tender age of 16 – making him the youngest ever scorer in the Premier League at the time – his age meant he was unable to celebrate with his fellow teammates. Instead, he went home and played behind a set of garages with his friends. Could you imagine anybody emulating that in this present day, I doubt it – incredible stuff.

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2. Sir Alex Ferguson was the reason for Rooney’s move to Man Utd

It was always going to be difficult for Rooney to leave his beloved boyhood club Everton. However, he seemed adamant in the fact that the famous Scotsman was the biggest factor in his move to Old Trafford. The Evertonian backlash was brutal, but he states that he had to secure the move in order to further his career – it’s hard to argue with that.

 

3. Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t regret the famous wink against England in 2006

Following the 2006 World Cup, the entirety of the football nation were up in arms about the actions of Ronaldo. Having been caught on camera winking towards the bench following his protests to send off Rooney, he became one of England’s most hated figures. It was clear that there were tactics to rile up Rooney and it worked. Even the vast majority of Man Utd fans would’ve been happy to have seen him leave the doors of Old Trafford following his infamous wink. However, even nearly a decade on, he expresses that he still doesn’t regret his move and claims the media made it a bigger deal than it was. Rooney says that he forgave him that day, I still haven’t.

 

 

4. Maintains that he didn’t put in a transfer request

His relationship with Ferguson became particularly strained towards the end of the manager’s tenure, but there was big debate surrounding Rooney’s rumoured transfer request, and the motives behind it. There was an initial desire to leave previous to this debacle – of which Rooney regrets – which is likely to have caused issues between the two. Despite Ferguson insisting he had put a request in, Rooney argues the contrary, seeming fixated in the fact he didn’t. He tells Gary Lineker that he was unhappy about his lack of playing time – which saw him sit on the sidelines for large parts of the 2012-2013 season – and asked if it was worth staying on at the club. Whether that can be considered a transfer request is up to you to decide.

 

5. He’s alright, you know

Whilst not being a massive hate figure amongst opposition supporters, many people had their pre-conceptions about Rooney, but we learn a lot about him. For one, you can tell he isn’t a fame hungry idiot, and does, in the cliche words, want to live a standard life. Despite popular opinion of his lack of intelligence, he comes across as having signs of a brain, and we even find out he enjoyed writing a poem or two back in the day. Personally, I came out of this documentary looking at Rooney in a slightly different light, and I’m sure many will have too. It’s a reminder that he really is any other guy from Croxteth, but what he has achieved is admirable.

Words by @JaikBFenton