Man United players pay tribute to Wayne Rooney | OneFootball

Manchester United players past and present have been paying tribute to Wayne Rooney, who announced his retirement from football yesterday.

Rooney played 559 games for the Red Devils before returning to Everton in 2017. He then joined Derby County after a brief stint in MLS and is now taking up the post of manager at Pride Park.

The Instagram tributes were led by fellow legend Rio Ferdinand, who posted a video saying ‘what a career this kid has had.

‘I laid eyes on him when he was 16 or 17 years old, after an England game as well, I said to his mum and dad “make sure he signs for Manchetser United” and they looked at me and laughed and probably thought, “we’ve already done the deal” and he came.

‘What a player … he’s done it all. What a player, ridiculous. No-one can doubt world class.’

David de Gea wrote ‘ Captain, Leader, Legend… and now gaffer!’

Marcus Rashford posted ‘To one of the greatest. To my hero. It was a dream come true to play alongside you. Congratulations on the most unbelievable career. The 🐐 Happy Retirement @waynerooney ♥️’

Harry Maguire posted ‘What A Player – Happy Retirement Legend.’

Juan Mata’s post humourously summed up the legendary player, writing his tribute like the dialogue for a movie or TV show:

‘”Wayne you are a LEGEND and I will always feel grateful and lucky to have played with you”.

– “Ok Juan”

– “No, really. Thanks for everything Wazza, I’m very proud to say that I’ve played with the legend himself”.

– “Ok sure Juan, I’m taking this free kick”

– “Mmm… ok”

One of the greatest. Congratulations on your incredible career Wazza. What a player… Good luck on your next chapter.’

Jesse Lingard posted ‘Happy Retirement To The Legend @waynerooney 👑 Shared Many Great Memories And It Was Pleasure To Play Along Side You 🤝❤️

Andreas Pereira, on loan at Lazio in Italy, simply wrote ‘Thanks for everything Wazza!’

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who of course also played alongside Rooney at United, said ‘Great news for Wayne and I wish him all the best. He’s had a very good career, he’s got a great personality so I think he’s got everything going for him to be a good manager.’