Chronicle Editor
WAYNE ROONEY has rejoined Everton on a free transfer from Manchester United, as the striker returns home to his boyhood club 13 years after leaving them.
The 31-year-old said he was ecstatic after signing a two-year deal with the club he grew up supporting.
Everton confirmed the transfer- which is worth around £150 000-a-week – with a short teaser video entitled ‘welcome home Wayne’.
Rooney spoke of his excitement at the move and said: ‘(Winning trophies with Everton) would be the pinnacle. I really feel now the club is moving in the right direction, bringing the right calibre of players in. I want to be part of it and hopefully part of a successful Everton team.
‘It’s a great feeling to be back. I’m excited, I cannot wait to meet the lads, get on the training pitch and then get on the pitch to play. I’m ecstatic – I just cannot wait to get back playing.
‘I’m excited, and I’m excited by the signings that the Club have made. This club is moving forward. This football club should be winning trophies and we’re taking huge steps to being involved and trying to win trophies.”
Rooney said the first game back will be an emotional day and that he was looking forward to it.
‘I’m not just coming back because it’s the team I support, the team I grew up playing for – I’m coming back because I feel the club can move forward and be successful,’ he said.
‘I want to be part of it. There will be pressure on me to perform, but I’m ready to go. I believe I can help move this club forward and be more successful on the pitch.
‘With the new stadium in the pipeline, it’s an exciting time to be an Everton player, to be an Everton fan.
‘It’s on us players to make those times even more exciting by giving them good performances and try to help them be successful and bring trophies to the club.’
Everton manager Ronald Koeman said: ‘Wayne has shown me that ambition that we need and that winning mentality – he knows how to win titles and I’m really happy he’s decided to come home.
‘He loves Everton and he was desperate to come back. He is still only 31 and I don’t have any doubts about his qualities. It’s fantastic he’s here.’
Sportsmail understands Rooney has agreed to a salary reduction of around 50 per cent as part of the deal taking him back to his boyhood club.
United have agreed to pay a portion of their departing captain’s wages, which amount to upwards of £300 000 a week, to facilitate the transfer.
United manager Jose Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward both paid tribute to the club legend.
Mourinho said, ‘It is no secret that I have long been an admirer of Wayne; he has been a model professional throughout his time at the club and will remain in the history books for many years to come.
‘It is never easy to see a great player playing less football than he would like and I could not stand in his way when he asked to go back to Everton.
‘His experience, focus and determination will be missed and I wish him well for the future.’
Woodward said, ‘Wayne has been a fantastic servant to United since the moment he signed for us as a prodigiously talented, explosive teenager some 13 seasons ago.
‘Who can forget his storybook debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce, the spectacular overhead kick against City and the countless match-winning performances in his time here?
‘But after much discussion, the club has decided to accept his request to rejoin his boyhood team.
‘He goes having created some of the most magical moments in some of the most successful years in the club’s history. Wayne leaves us as our greatest ever goalscorer and having won every major trophy in the game.
‘His record will take decades for anyone to get close to matching and I am extremely grateful for the way he has led from the front since being appointed club captain three years ago.
‘On behalf of the whole club and our hundreds of millions of fans around the world, we wish Wayne all the very best for the next phase of his incredible career.’
His wages back on Merseyside are still expected to total around the £150 000 a week mark, which would make him comfortably the highest earner at Everton.
Rooney left Everton for United as an 18-year-old in the summer of 2004 after progressing through the Toffees’ youth system.
He departs as the Red Devils’ all-time top goalscorer after breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s record with a late equaliser against Stoke in January – his 250th strike for the club.
Rooney netted 253 goals in total during his 13 years at Old Trafford, which saw him claim five Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and an FA Cup.
He becomes Everton’s sixth major signing of the window following Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez, Davy Klaassen and Henry Onyekuru. — Daily Mail
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