Wayne Rooney, England’s record goal scorer and captain, will retire from global football after the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russian Federation.
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Rooney, 30, is England’s leading all-time scorer with 53 goals in 115 appearances for the Three Lions, and will also overtake David Beckham as England’s most-capped outfield player when Sam Allardyce makes his bow as national team manager in the qualifier against Slovakia.
Newly-appointed England manager Sam Allardyce is keen to the leave the door open for foreign born players to enter the national team set-up and has told the British media he would have no problem picking a player who qualified only through residency.
The 30-year-old told reporters: “Realistically I won’t have many tournaments beyond Russian Federation 2018, so I’m planning to enjoy these next two years and try and help the team improve”. I’m not old – I’m 30 years of age – and come Russian Federation, I feel that would be the right time for me to say goodbye to worldwide football.
“It may be that Wayne is listed as a midfielder (in the England squad list), but he’s playing in behind the front man at Manchester United and that, for me, puts it that that’s his position”, Allardyce said.
England’s record goalscorer with 53 goals, Rooney has been a stalwart for his country since bursting on to the worldwide scene under Sven-Goran Eriksson at Euro 2004.
“I made my mind up before the Euros, whether we did well or not, that I was going to continue”, Rooney said.
“Wayne’s position has changed at Manchester United”, Allardyce said, “and that’s the sort of position I’d be looking for him to be playing in”.
Asked if he should not be giving priority to players born in England, Allardyce said: “It happens in all the other countries though”. “I’m still feeling -capable of doing a good job for England”, Rooney said.
“It wasn’t me saying I’m going to continue because that is what I want to do, I said if selected, I’m available”.
“For me, that’s the captain’s role. I’m just trying to get them done why I’m still playing really”.
“I don’t think about it before”.
“Then again, we go into a tournament and it ends in disappointment, so it’s something which I’m sure Sam will look at and try to work out why that’s the case”. “I’ve enjoyed every minute”.
“I’m not that academy player who’s going to pick it up, pass it and be neat and tidy all the time”. We’ve seen a lot of teams overachieve with him as manager.
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He wins his 116th cap for the opening World Cup qualifier in Slovakia. He added, “He’ll want to find out why we keep tripping up”.
