Wayne Rooney reveals death threats

Wayne Rooney’s name is woven into the modern history of Manchester United.

The Liverpool-born forward became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 253 goals in all competitions.

Across his time at Old Trafford, Rooney won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup across a glittering 13-year spell.

Signed from Everton in 2004 in a deal worth up to £27 million, Rooney arrived as the most expensive teenager in world football.

Thankfully, he quickly justified the investment with a debut hat-trick against Fenerbahçe in the Champions League.

Across those peak years he evolved from explosive No 9 into a complete, all-action forward and later a creative playmaker, a constant presence through multiple title-winning sides under Sir Alex Ferguson.

That legacy makes it easy to forget how turbulent the very start of his United career actually was.

However, the move from his boyhood club on Merseyside to Old Trafford spilled into his personal life in a way few 18-year-olds could be ready for.

Speaking on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the former United striker has now revealed that he received death threats when he left Everton for United in 2004.

Explaining the situation, Rooney commented: “I got death threats. My parents’ house was getting spray painted and smashed up.”

He continued: “My girlfriend at the time, wife now, her house was getting spray painted.”

Rooney went on to describe how important his mentality and support network were at that point, adding: “I think that’s where you have to be mentally strong. The people around you have to help.

”Leaving was difficult because I went to Manchester United, and Liverpool and Manchester was a big rivalry so that made it a lot more difficult.”

Despite the intensity of the backlash, he said his ambition outweighed the fear.

Rooney continued: “I was always of a mindset of ‘I don’t care’. I knew what I wanted and I knew how to get there.

”I had to stay tough in my mind. This was people from my city so it was tough but I thought ‘I don’t care’, you have to be selfish and make these decisions.”

For Manchester United supporters, those decisions ultimately delivered a club-record goalscorer and one of the defining players of the Premier League era, but Rooney’s comments are a stark reminder of the personal cost that can sit behind a transfer headline.