Wayne Rooney is the current star of English football. The striker is now a regular player for England national team and English Premier League club Manchester United. Before joining Manchester United for a transfer fee of £25.6 million in 2004, Rooney spent 2 years at Everton.

Born on 24 October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool to a Catholic family, Rooney grew up along with his two younger brothers: Graeme Rooney and John Rooney, who himself is a professional footballer.

After playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and Copplehouse boys' club, Wayne Rooney joined the youth academy of Everton at the tender age of nine. He started to play for Everton’s senior side from 2002 when he was just 17.

In 2003, Rooney broke into the England national team. While representing England during Euro 2004, his first major international tournament, Rooney became the youngest goalscorer in the history of European Championship.

So, Rooney had already become a hot-shot player in England by August 2004 and started to attract interests from various clubs. He was heavily linked with Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Meanwhile, he rejected Everton’s three-year contract extension offer with £12,000-a-week salary. Then the Merseyside club snubbed a Newcastle bid worth £20 million, before accepting Manchester United’s offer for the youngster.

An immensely talented striker, Rooney is well-known for his working hard mentality and selfless attitude. Besides his goal scoring prowess, he is also skilled at setting up for others.

Rooney has so far won a number of prestigious titles with Manchester United including three Premier League, one Champions League and two League Cup titles.

Individually, Rooney has been awarded England Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009. He has also won PFA Players' Player of the Year once, PFA Young Player of the Year twice and PFA Fans' Player of the Year twice. Moreover, he made the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on two occasions.

Rooney has represented England in 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup tournaments, and has so far played 70 international matches with 26 goals to his credit.

Related websites:

Wikipedia

Profile at the Official Website of Manchester United

(** All the information stated above are as of 16 April 2011.)