Wayne Rooney said he feared becoming a “dead weight” if he had remained at Everton instead of joining DC United, and claimed his boyhood club were happy for him to leave. Rooney spent just one season at Everton after rejoining the club on a two-year contract in 2017, scoring 10 goals in 31 Premier League appearances in a campaign that saw Sam Allardyce take over from Ronald Koeman as the club’s manager. Allardyce left the club in May to be replaced by Marco Silva, and Rooney said the winds of change at Goodison Park left him feeling clear about the decision to move away.
Debut for @dcunited ✔️
First game at @audifield ✔️
3 points ✔️Thanks for the great reception!! 👏🏼⚫️🔴 #DCU pic.twitter.com/uDSluvSZhQ
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) July 15, 2018
“Everton made it clear if there was an offer there, they would be happy for me to go,” he said.
“I understand they have brought a new manager in, got new staff, they obviously want to bring in players that manager wants.
“I am sure it will release money for the new players who come in. I am sure that was in their thinking.
“I said to them if that is what you want, I am not going to hang around and be a dead weight. I will go somewhere else and play,” he said.