In the orbit of Manchester and Merseyside, Wayne Rooney has long been recognised by the force of his playing career. Now, at the launch of Disney+ series The Real Rooneys, the former England captain presented a markedly different figure: 40 kilograms lighter, recovering from nasal surgery and considering what direction life may take after management.
Key takeaways
- Rooney appeared at the Disney+ event having lost 40kg since his retirement from playing in 2021.
- He rejected claims that weight-loss injections had contributed to his transformation.
- The former Manchester United forward also had an operation to correct a breathing issue in his nose.
- He said the procedure should finally address snoring that had troubled his wife for years.
- Rooney is using television work to give himself a focus while accepting he may not return to coaching.
A new public appearance
The Real Rooneys follows Rooney and his family, and its presentation offered the first major public view of the 40-year-old after his weight loss. Since ending his professional playing career in 2021, he had put on substantial weight, a familiar change for many former footballers once the daily demands of the game disappear.
Rooney said recent suggestions that he was using injectable medication had been frustrating. Referring to reports about “the pen”, he insisted that the change had come through his own sustained work rather than a shortcut, saying it was disappointing to see those claims while he was making a serious effort to lose weight.
His appearance also reflected a separate medical decision. Rooney explained that air had not been passing properly through one side of his nose, so he chose to have it repaired. The operation is expected to ease the snoring that had been a longstanding annoyance at home.
Looking beyond the dugout
Rooney has not presented the television project as a commercial move. Instead, he described it as a way to retain a purpose rather than spending every day at home, while he works out the next chapter after football.
The former striker, whose coaching career has included spells with Derby County, DC United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle, acknowledged that a return to management is not guaranteed. “There is a possibility that I never coach again,” he said, adding that he needs to look forward.
For the moment, he even floated a lighter possibility for life on screen. Rooney said he would need a place on The Masked Singer, before joking that the programme’s competitors would “destroy” him.
