Season › 2017-18 › News
Rooney nearing DC United switch

Updated Wayne Rooney's proposed move to Major League Soccer is edging closer, although sources in the US say it might not be concluded as soon as a Sky Sports report suggests.
The 32-year-old has been the subject of interest from the MLS club for the past year and they stepped up their efforts to lure him across The Pond towards the end of the season just gone.
According to Sky's sources, Rooney is to agree to a £3.8m-a-year package that would see him make the switch, with no transfer fee involved but DC agreeing to paying a significant portion of the wages due for the remaining year of his Everton contract, and that it could be wrapped up by Monday.
The agreement also leaves the door open for Rooney to return to the Blues as a coach afterwards, with the assumption being that he would use some of his time in the United States to earn his coaching badges.
It was the Liverpool Echo's understanding that Rooney was due to sit down with new Everton manager, Marco Silva, and Director of Football, Marco Brands to discuss how much he could expect to be involved in the Toffees' team next season but, if Sky's information is correct, that now seems unlikely.
The Washington Post also claim that negotiations have advanced but don't believe a deal will be done in the next few days. They cite the need for DC to hammer out terms with Everton over the final year of his contract at Goodison Park.
The former Manchester United and England star is said to be hurt by a willingness on the part of the Blues' hierarchy to allow him to leave this summer rather than provide him assurances of regular game time in 2018-19.
After an expensive but unproductive transfer spree last year, Everton's major shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, is believed to be looking for more efficient use of the club's money this time around and could see little value in retaining Rooney on a reported £180,000-a-week salary if he is to spend most of his time on the bench.
Rooney rejoined the Blues after a 13-year spell at Manchester United and finished his first season back at Goodison Park as the club's top scorer, despite not finding the net at all since the New Year.
Assuming everything is signed and agreed with regard to his contract with DC United, Rooney's transfer would not become effective until 10th July when the MLS transfer window opens, although he could begin training with his new team at any time before that.
He would be able to apply for a work visa to play in the US in the interim while also finding a house in the Washington DC area. He could then make his debut on 15th July when DC take on Vancouver Whitecaps.
Reader Comments (63)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
2 Posted 01/06/2018 at 07:41:02
In other words, we get no fee and have to pay some of his wages for the next 12 months.
Is this the best deal for us? Why should Rooney expect us to pay him for another year? Once a blue always a blue, eh Wayne? But you'll still come back to be a coach? That's nice of you, we're really grateful.
3 Posted 01/06/2018 at 07:54:21
Hopefully under Marcel Brands, the club will become more astute and commercial, in business, including the Bramley-Moore Dock project.
I anticipate plenty of transfer rumours now, incoming transfers. Let's see what happens the next week.
4 Posted 01/06/2018 at 07:57:10
No transfer fee AND supplementing his wages is utter madness; I'd say there's a number of bottom half Premier League clubs who would pay significantly for his services.
The more things change, the more stay the same.
5 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:06:52
6 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:07:00
No transfer fee but DC are paying a significant part of his wages?
١.8 mill divided by 52 is basically 㿷k which is equal to half of his salary?
DC are not paying a significant part of his wages – we are both paying half!!!!!!!!
Yet another transfer coup by Everton - is it no wonder clubs overcharge for our targets, under offer for their targets and basically take the piss!!!!!
Hopefully, Kenwright goes and Brands et al get to grips with our transfer fiascos sooner rather than later.
7 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:19:45
Not only is he delusional, the fact is it was a mistake bringing him back in the first place and so the deal is a case of damage limitation. When a player has a Contract, any move has to be based upon a willingness of the player to move.
As to him being guaranteed a coaching role? Surely that is up to Marco Silva to assess whether he wants him in that role? Wayne isn't an Everton "legend". He was perfectly entitled to leave Everton for Man Utd when he did, but the Club owes him nothing.
8 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:36:06
How ever long he lasts he can't lose because he will just boomerang back here and sit alongside his alter ego, Big Dunc, in the pitch-side stand.
9 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:39:43
To me, it's very simple. If you perform well, then you are selected. If you don't, then you are not.
With the mileage on his clock, surely he must know that it's horses for courses throughout a season.
10 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:46:37
As to returning as a coach, what qualities has he exhibited to even consider that as an option? He left us once to protect his own interests and looks like he's looking to do so again. "Once a Blue" to become "Twice a Blue"? If so, hopefully it'll not become "Three times a Blue"! Let's not paraphrase the Lionel Ritchie song!
11 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:52:32
12 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:55:22
13 Posted 01/06/2018 at 08:57:09
I could understand even if he wanted to join a leading passionate South American club like Boca Juniors or River Plate for example but DC United!!
I am quite shocked by Rooney wanting to walk away from us again so quickly. I thought this was the 2-year spell, the homecoming for putting the past to rest and rebuilding bridges and he wanted to “achieve something “ with his boyhood club?
It would be interesting to see if we ever find out his motives for leaving. He's only 32 so does he genuinely feel he can't contribute to even 20-25 games next season?
He doesn't need the money, let's be brutally honest, and he could have seen out next season with his beloved Blues guiding younger players and being the leading example and adding a touch of class to cameo performances.
Leaves a bitter taste – especially knowing this deal has nothing at all beneficial to Everton Football Club.
14 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:04:01
There's too much money in the game now so it's easy to hide who is being paid what by whom and the true value of players. Good luck to the lad but I for one want to return to the days of Alan Harper arriving on a match day in a Ford Orion sponsored by Ian Skelly. Proper footy.
15 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:09:54
Just go!
16 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:09:56
Might be an odd way of looking at it but Rooney's modest total of 10 still outdoes anything the others could muster.
You may argue Tosun would be a 10-12 goal striker if he'd been signed last August and had the full season behind him – but that's hypothetical.
17 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:14:49
18 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:14:57
I acknowledge my problem is that he wants guaranteed minutes, no way. We pretty much all have played some type of sport at sometime, how did we make the team? By working our socks off!
I want another striker to play with Tosun but not Rooney, that attitude should be out of this club. Silva apparently has a reputation for rewarding hard work on the training ground which I love to hear; young lads working their socks off knowing they will get a chance.
19 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:16:02
20 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:30:26
Great posts on Silva, by the way.
21 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:42:29
It wasn't a good piece of business. We all knew it at the time. Everton went for it as a diversionary tactic with losing Lukaku.
I don't think Rooney has the game or physical explosiveness to be an impact sub. We may just have to get what we can on this one I
For me, hopefully Bolasie and Williams follow him out of the club. All three take big money and are not of the ability for this club. I would take any semi-reasonable offer for any of them. Below this are a raft of players – Keane, Schneidrlin, Klaassen, Funes Mori – who I would also sell for the right money.
22 Posted 01/06/2018 at 09:59:36
As far as eating some of his wages, he wouldn't be the only one Moshiri might have to do that with, if we're to cut down the roster.
I'm definitely in the group saying we have to get in a centre-back and a left-back. Beyond that, I wonder if Silva's first season remit is to "make do" with what he has while he and Brands sort out our current mess of a roster.
23 Posted 01/06/2018 at 10:05:25
Such a backward-looking transfer, hopefully the last dying embers of a sentimentallity that is both counter-productive and nausiating, After Kenwright goes in August, this will be the last of any such deals, I hope.
I don't have a lot of good things to say in Koeman's defence but I feel he was overuled by our theatrical leader on this one; Sigurdsson was his man.
This was Kenwright and a kid who had sold out to big money trying to grasp a hold of something that means more than money, but time and tide wait for no man, and nor should our Club; onwards and upwards with the new Manager & DoF please
The most shocking thing for me is the fact that he was one of our better players this season... says it all.
24 Posted 01/06/2018 at 10:24:30
25 Posted 01/06/2018 at 10:27:06
Hardly inspiring and worth the money he has been paid for 2282 minutes of play ie one real goal per 326 minutes from England's greatest striker! Compare to Tosun @ 5 ie a real goal per 198 mins, Oumar Niasse @ 8 per 135 mins per goal.
26 Posted 01/06/2018 at 10:32:42
As to Rooney, why do we need to keep a coaching role open for him? I think it's time we moved on.
27 Posted 01/06/2018 at 10:40:24
It appears that he/the club realize he can't quite cut it any more in the Premier League so he's going. I get the feeling the message may have been conveyed to him before Silva arrived but after Allardyce was fired, if you know what I mean.
Rooney's leaving could be construed as the beginning of the end of sentimentality signings and a more professional approach (if you wanted to see the positives).
Oh, and we won't be paying 㿷k a week to him for the next year, IMO ;-)
28 Posted 01/06/2018 at 11:13:55
Man Utd ٠M; Everton ٠M; DC Utd ٢M? We may never know.
I can see his game time being drastically reduced next season. So, if he wants to play football, moving would be best for him.
29 Posted 01/06/2018 at 12:28:43
James Flynn, Marco Silva belongs to that breed of coach that believes they can develop players without dipping into what (the new Chelsea manager?) Maurizio Sarri calls "the refuge of the weak", the transfer market. When you buy a player you're trying to get a player who is a little bit faster, or a little bit more technically gifted than what you have. I believe Silva will be concerned at Baines' injury record, diminishing pace and stamina, and so a left back is going to be necessary. They will have concerns over the pace in the centre of the defence, as they will want to play a high line, otherwise you cannot play a pressing game. Then there is the critical area of the "spring". Silva's sides counter attack at rapid speed. In order to effect this, we need someone to be on the ball in the middle of the pitch, immediately when we win the ball, and this player needs the ability to hit accurate 40, 50, 60 yard passes. Schneiderlin could do this, but has shown few examples of it recently. Where Schniederlin falls down though, even on form, is he takes too many touches in doing so. Even Allardyce, who similarly liked to get the ball forwards quickly, was unable to get the midfield to do so. That's why I think Silva will turn to someone he knows well and knows he can rely on, William Carvalho. The other area that Silva will give Schneiderlin a big X, other than his attitude, is his lack of mobility. Silva would want Schneiderlin to be moving into attack.
I'm sure the club want a world class striker. I fail to see anyone the club can easily bring in, without spending 㿷m+, and would want to come. So I think it's likely we persevere with Tosun, Calvert-Lewin and Niasse, who each offer a different option to Silva.
30 Posted 01/06/2018 at 12:59:39
How would we use him as a coach? Parade him in front of all the youngsters, point to him and say "This is what you'd look like by 30 if you don't look after yourself". Scare tactics can often work on young impressionable minds, but some of the mums and dads might complain we are frightening their kids.
31 Posted 01/06/2018 at 13:00:34
If we are paying part of his salary with no transfer fee, then I would rather have him coming off the bench for 20 minutes every game.
100% spot on.
32 Posted 01/06/2018 at 13:27:10
If we start the season with Tosun, Calvert-Lewin and Niasse I can't see us getting any higher than the year just gone. I like all 3 of them... but would they get a sniff at any other decent club?
Maybe Tosun will lift in his second season.
33 Posted 01/06/2018 at 13:42:43
We sold him on the cheap, missed his best years and brought him back finished on high wages.
He has been bang average or worse since his return and we are still paying him big money.
I would argue he's been nothing but a leech on the club.
34 Posted 01/06/2018 at 14:01:16
Or we could use him as inspiration to the youngsters. Something along the lines of:
"If you work hard and apply yourself, you could have a career like Rooney. You could go on to break the England records, you could go on to break the records at a world-famous club. In fact, if you achieve 50% of what Rooney has, you will be remembered as a top player"
35 Posted 01/06/2018 at 14:26:33
I think Wayne Rooney deserves a little more respect even though his level was not what we expected.
36 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:13:43
Having a frustrated Rooney around the team will not be good for him or for the manager. Given the choice between Wayne & Sigurdsson in the Number 10 position, I'd pick Siggy as he creates more.
It's a shame how things worked out, but we have to look to the future now. The wages we'll save could pay for one or two younger & fitter players.
37 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:27:02
Desperation for Rooney to find a club at which he might actually play some football, having fallen sufficiently far down the Man Utd pecking order that he was now surplus to requirements.
Desperation for Man Utd to move Rooney on. I believe that Man Utd even agreed to pay a significant portion of his wages, such was their desire to get him out of the door.
Desperation for Everton to make a major transfer splash, especially with Lukaku leaving and our inability to attract a major name at the top of his game; so we settled for one of the biggest names in football who was at best now five years past his prime, and at worst a complete liability.
Desperation for Kenwright to bring Rooney back – in the hope that it might undo some of the scorn fans had with him for allowing the prize jewel of English football to fly the nest at 18 years old.
When it was confirmed that Rooney was returning my head said that it was going to be a disaster, while my heart hope that he has something left in the tank. He's been on fumes for years now. At 18 he looked like he was going to be the brightest star in the football galaxy; by 28 he was a supernova.
38 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:38:23
Too much last season was down to individuals, ie, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Niasse, Walcott. There wasn't many good team goals, just lots of individual ones.
39 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:43:06
40 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:44:14
41 Posted 01/06/2018 at 15:46:57
42 Posted 01/06/2018 at 16:09:25
Man Utd paid a sizeable chunk of his wages last season – otherwise, we couldn't have afforded Wayne. The 㾶m was disguised wage transfer.
Now it sounds as if his wages will be divided between the three clubs. On the positive side, this will free up money, not lose it for us.
As for the playing side, I enjoyed having Wayne back, at least for the first half of the season. Change of regime at Goodison means best for all concerned if he moves on. Why don't we bury any residual hatchets and wish him the best?
43 Posted 01/06/2018 at 16:16:11
I don't mind giving him a free transfer but we shouldn't be paying him to leave.
I think I'd keep him for the remaining 12 months and have him as an impact sub as an attacking option. He looked okay in the first half of the season. The midfield experiment looked a masterstroke against West Ham but he just looked old an past it against the better sides.
That all said, club hierarchy might have been considered this and it might be Rooney who's pushing this move because he knows he won't be starting games next season. In which case, he shouldn't be milking us for wages once he leaves.
44 Posted 01/06/2018 at 16:22:39
Had he been consistent with his passing, had he been able to stroll around the pitch like Pirlo and effect the game, regardless of his lack of pace, then I think we'd take a chance on him.
Instead, he can't play up top as he can't press, and the striker initiates the pressing. He can't play wide due to a lack of pace. He can't play deep as he lacks the energy to go box to box for even 60 minutes. Which means he can only fit in as a number 10, and sorry Wayne, but that's Gylfi's job now. So perhaps he can sit on the bench and be backup, but clearly he doesn't wish to do that, and it makes no sense to pay someone 𧵎k a week to sit on the bench.
45 Posted 01/06/2018 at 16:32:03
Let's be honest, though. Would Rooney accept that arrangement? Probably not. That's his problem. It shouldn't be ours having to subsidise him getting first-team football elsewhere.
46 Posted 01/06/2018 at 16:32:40
Once a Blue, Wayne... remember that!
47 Posted 01/06/2018 at 17:51:49
Obviously hasn't looked after himself (or agent) so looking to boost the financial coffers. Big mistake bringing him back.
48 Posted 01/06/2018 at 17:59:33
If he really thinks we're going to give him a coaching job after a year of pissing about in the States on Everton's dime, he's either a twat or the board are twats. Probably the latter.
He must really love the club to keep taking its money for fuck all.
49 Posted 01/06/2018 at 18:05:30
50 Posted 01/06/2018 at 18:08:35
Could you ever see the RS bringing Gerrard back on 𧵬k a week and the effect that has on other players? IMO that was half of the dressing room issue.
As for coaching, you lead by example — smoking, drinking to excess and getting involved with ladies of the night is not the way to get the youngsters to behave professionally.
Bye, Wayne... you left your best in Manchester and brought the baggage back to the Blues.
51 Posted 01/06/2018 at 19:09:57
Colin @ 49 – the least professional of all was Rooney himself – his behaviour has stunk for years & he's not what we need round our young players.
52 Posted 01/06/2018 at 19:17:26
What promising signs has he shown that he would make one, or that he is sufficiently intelligent, intuitive and innovative enough to be one?
Most of those who now realise what a folly it was to bring him back in the first place 'because he is a blue' have come to their senses. What a predictably nonsensical, costly and embarrassing decision.
But it still amazes me how many times some of you have to be bitten to finally become shy.
Hurry up and naff off to DC, or wherever else you can still massage your ego by being a big fish in a small pond Rooney. And good riddance.
You've proven to be as true a blue as the likes of Fowler and McNanaman.
Just go, for Christ's sake – and don't come back!
53 Posted 01/06/2018 at 19:44:57
I suspect that you will disagree with that but had you and Lyndon argued that Allardyce see out his contract or, in fact, been neutral, you would or could have been a rallying point for those who feared change.
The first piece I ever wrote on this site, many years ago, was titled "Does ToffeeWeb matter"? I suggest it does. Anyway, I'd like to hear from you and, also Paul Trail and hopefully Ken Buckley on this.
We get comprehensive and diverse match reports, so why not on this important issue?
54 Posted 01/06/2018 at 20:18:15
55 Posted 01/06/2018 at 22:29:42
He should have never been bought in the first place. He was finished at Man Utd. His agent couldn't believe his luck when the sentimental Everton tosh became a reality. A 2-year contract and Everton's highest paid player.
Rooney was one of the central malaises of the last season and quite frankly behaved badly. Not fit to play in the Premier League and not part of next season plannings. We don't need a cart horse in the midfield.
The transfer to America was part of the plan at the end of next season, but it's obvious his unprofessional approach to fitness means he needs to get to America this season, while the last vestiges of value as a professional footballer are evident, to get him to 35.
These are the reasons that the DC transfer is as it is, and Rooney is playing the press to try to put pressure on Everton. He has only his name to offer now.
Get rid to Buzzard Point at a least cost as possible. It was one big mistake in the first place.
56 Posted 01/06/2018 at 22:35:58
57 Posted 02/06/2018 at 00:25:43
He's had a year at the club and it's not worked out. No need for him to fleece the club he ‘loves'. If he wants to play that game then he can spend his final year in obscurity.
58 Posted 02/06/2018 at 08:33:02
I'd be keeping him and tell him he's a bench player. If he wants to play, he can leave on a free - but we won't cover the wages.
I don't see the point in paying 㿷k a week for a player not at the club. We have enough squad that aren't in the starting XI, so I'd be getting rid of those first – Williams, Besic, Mirallas, Klaassen, Garbutt. And keep Rooney as an impact player who can play two or three positions. He might still win a number of points if used sparingly.
59 Posted 02/06/2018 at 09:42:56
He wants certain guarantees though appearance wise which we correctly cannot give him. Caught between a rock and a hard place really – the Everton way!
60 Posted 02/06/2018 at 19:33:19
It's a strange one. Moshiri must dislike Wayne, big time. Why else would he literally pay to get him off the books? I don't buy the "he blows the wage structure" argument either. What players demand in wages is more about their market value and the size of the club they play for, not Wayne Rooney.
What a waste for Everton, he was one of the best players in the world for a long time. Just not when we owned his registration.
61 Posted 03/06/2018 at 22:09:43
62 Posted 04/06/2018 at 15:23:12
New Everton manager Marco Silva says the "door is open" for Wayne Rooney to stay, despite his talks with DC United.
Rooney, 32, has spoken with the Major League Soccer side, but has a year left on his Everton deal.
In his first news conference as Everton boss, Silva said he had a small list of 'big name' transfer targets but had not ruled out Rooney staying on.
"Rooney is a club legend and we need to understand everything," said Silva. "The door is open every time for him."
63 Posted 04/06/2018 at 15:47:34
Start has you mean to go on, Marco, and give him a wide berth.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


1 Posted 01/06/2018 at 07:33:20