Wayne Rooney immediately put a point behind his player career. The 35-year-old Englishman becomes head coach of Derby County, where he has been active as a player and assistant trainer for a year.
In November, Rooney took over all of the duties of the dismissed head coach Phillip Cocu on an interim basis and now signs a contract for 2.5 years with the club in the Championship 22nd. The attacker appears to have finished his last game against Middlesbrough on November 25.
“ I knew instinctively that Derby County is the club I belong to,” Rooney explained his decision. “I consider it an honor to follow in the footsteps of predecessors like Brian Clough, Jim Smith, Frank Lampard and Phillip Cocu.”
Five country titles
Rooney made his first Premier League goal in October 2002, Manchester United and DC United as a 16-year-old. The striker was good for 313 hits in the 763 matches he played in the club.
With Manchester United, where he is a club top scorer with 253 goals, he won five titles in the thirteen years under contract and won the Champions League in 2008.
The 120-fold English international – only goalkeeper Peter Shilton has five more caps in his name – is also record holder in the national team with 53 hits.