Man United legend Wayne Rooney reveals the name he went by during his time in the US
As far as football icons go in England, there aren’t many bigger than former Three Lions skipper Rooney.
Since his emergence over two decades ago, Rooney has been regularly in the news, on both the front and back pages, and has set goalscoring records for both Manchester United and England.
For some generations of football fans, Rooney may be the face that first comes to mind when they think of the game, having been the face of the video game FIFA on a number of occasions at the height of his powers.
So the idea that people might not immediately shout his name from the moment he walks into the room is strange.
Yet the Man United and England legend has revealed that his profile in America was so low that he sometimes had to go by a completely different name in public.
Wayne Rooney spent more than two and a half years in the MLS as a player and manager at DC United
Rooney is one of the greatest players in Manchester United history and still holds his goalscoring record
In 52 appearances for the American club, Rooney scored 25 goals and provided a further 14 assists
Wayne’s wife Coleen did not move to the US during her husband’s time at DC United
Following his disappointing departure from Birmingham City, Rooney has turned to gaming, playing FC 24 with social media stars Angry Ginge, Chunkz, Filly and Mark Goldbridge, as well as rapper Aitch and darts sensation Luke Littler.
And while streaming with his new teammates, Rooney revealed how not only did people not know his name, but they couldn’t even understand him when he first crossed the pond to play for DC United.
In the live stream, Rooney said: ‘When I was in the US, everyone thought I was Irish… When I was at Starbucks, I don’t think they got my name right once… I was called ‘Won’. , I was called “Win”…
“So eventually I just started saying (my name was) Ian.”
Rooney arrived at the MLS team as a statement signing, having left boyhood club Everton on a free transfer after just a year.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this meant he had some sort of anonymous spell in the US capital, but he was in fact their best player during his 18 months in the squad.
In 52 appearances for the club he scored 25 goals and provided a further 14 assists, including perhaps one of the greatest of all time.
In August 2018, when DC United’s 10-man were tied at 2-2 with Orlando City, Rooney raced back two-thirds of the pitch to make a lung-busting tackle after an attacking corner was cleared.
The English legend admitted that many in the United States thought “I was Irish” and could not understand his accent
As a result, he was often referred to as ‘Ian’, he revealed on a live stream for video game FC 24
Rooney made his EA Sports FC Pro Clubs debut for Girth N Turf earlier this year, alongside a number of social media personalities
He then jumped back to his feet and brought the ball back into the opponent’s half before delivering a pinpoint ball to the back post for Luciano Acosta to head home at the back post. And all that in the 96th minute of the match.
Earlier this year, Rooney was unveiled as Girth N Turf’s latest Pro Clubs signing
During his time in DC he was considered a success. He earned nominations for the MLS MVP, was named to the MLS Best XI and earned the club captaincy.
In that sense, you could very well say Rooney lived up to the hype. Not only did he succeed on a personal level, but he also improved the team despite not winning any trophies.
The ex-England captain would remain at the club until the end of 2019 before moving to Derby County, but would return to DC for another year as manager in 2022.
As such, even his harshest critics would be hard-pressed to describe his venture across the Atlantic as anything other than a success as a player – although the same cannot quite be said of his managerial stint.
Under Rooney, DC United had impressed but they missed the play-offs in both seasons with their former star at the helm after winning just 14 games, losing 26 and drawing 13.
He later left the club on October 8 after 53 games and joined Birmingham City just three days later on October 11, 2023, although it is still a shock that he remained unknown even though the popularity of football is incomparable to traditional American sports.
A spell in the MLS is now a common occurrence for most of European football’s leading stars, who prefer to move to America for the waning days of their careers.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, Thierry Henry and Kaka – it’s a well-trodden path and had gradually started to raise the division’s profile before Lionel Messi threw a truckload of gas on the fire.
Since the Argentine joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami, the profile of both the division and the club has soared.
Under Rooney, DC United had shown signs of improvement but ultimately failed to reach the play-offs in both campaigns
The arrival of Lionel Messi (right) and former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez (left) has led to a huge growth in the profile of the MLS
Ticket sales for Inter Miami and even away games with Messi have skyrocketed, with some prices increasing by 1,700 percent. This translates into millions of dollars in potential revenue for the league.
More games are sold out, more eyes are on matches from all over the world, Apple TV subscriptions are flying off the shelves and more and more players from Europe’s elite are joining.
Granted, many of these are Messi’s former teammates – Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez have all joined him in Miami – but there has been a marked improvement from the division.
In this way, Rooney’s relative anonymity may have been because he perhaps joined the league a little too early, and had he arrived more recently he might have had a better chance of getting the right name on his coffee order.