Former Manchester United Wayne Rooney has agreed to return to Major League Soccer side DC United as the club’s new head coach. The 36-year-old England’s record goalscorer stepped down as Derby County manager last month after guiding the Rams through a tortuous period in the club’s history. His first job in management saw him lead the club through administration and relegation to League One.
The former Everton and Manchester United forward spent 18 months in Washington at DC United before joining Derby as a player coach in January 2020. He was put in interim charge of the team in November of that year with the club bottom of the Championship after they parted company with Phillip Cocu.
Rooney was confirmed in the post on a two-and-half-year contract three months later, a decision that prompted him to confirm his retirement as a player. Manchester United’s record goalscorer was earmarked to continue in his role had Chris Kirchner’s controversial takeover of Derby been completed, but he left after it fell through.
The MLA club side has been without a manager since April, is the second bottom of the Eastern Conference, and was beaten 7-0 by Philadelphia Union on Friday. The former Everton forward, who made his professional debut for the Toffees in August 2002 aged just 16, is expected to be unveiled by DC on Tuesday.