Rooney Clears the Air on His Retirement, Says a ‘Few Years Left’

Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney says he has “a few years left” in his international football career

File photo of Wayne Rooney (Photo: IANS)

England captain and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney dismissed speculations regarding his career and said that he is confident that he has “a few years left” in his international football career.

News of the footballer retiring was doing the rounds. A blow to the knee kept him out of action since last February and the emergence of strikers such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy led to questions over England head coach Roy Hodgson’s reliance on Rooney during Euro 2016.

Over the past two years, my form for England has been really good. I’ve scored a lot of goals. I’ll keep trying to, first and foremost, help the team be successful and if I can score the goals to help achieve that then that’ll be great. I’ve still got a few years left, I feel. I’m always just thinking about what comes next and making sure I’m at my best for the summer.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney, who will turn 31 in October, made his international debut at the age of 17 as a substitute against Australia in February 2003 and became the Three Lions’ youngest-ever scorer with a goal in a 2-1 win over Macedonia seven months later.

Last September, he surpassed Bobby Charlton’s long-standing goal-scoring record of 49 goals for England against Switzerland and now has 51 goals in 109 international caps.

Additionally, Rooney is also closing in on Charlton’s all-time goal-scoring record of 249 goals for the Red Devils and is currently their second-highest scorer with 244 goals, but might need to wait until next season to break it due to his injury.