Wayne Rooney, the former star of Manchester United and England, has been named manager of Plymouth Argyle, an English Championship team.
Ian Foster, who was fired in April after only three months on the job, is replaced by 38-year-old Rooney. By one point, Argyle managed to stay in the second division by finishing in 21st place.
The chairman of Argyle, Simon Hallett, released a statement on Saturday. “Throughout the interview process, Wayne showed himself to be a passionate, intelligent, and knowledgeable candidate with an appetite to prove himself and develop his managerial career,” the statement read.
“So much so that he reached out to the board when we started this process and was attracted by the project at hand and showed a real plan on how to lead the football club forward.”
Rooney has unsuccessfully managed Major League Soccer (MLS) team DC United, Derby County, and Birmingham City in the past.
“Taking this role at Plymouth Argyle feels like the perfect next step in my career – and I would like to thank the chairman and board for the faith they have shown in me,” Rooney stated.
The all-time leading scorer for Manchester United was named Birmingham’s manager in October 2023 when the team was sixth in the standings. However, after the team dropped to 20th place, he was fired in January.
Before coming to Birmingham, Rooney had left his position as manager of DC United the previous season after the team failed to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs for the fourth time in a row.
He also managed Derby County for 17 months, during which time his club earned 55 points, which was sufficient to survive, but was demoted to the third division due to financial difficulties.
Rooney won five Premier League championships and the Champions League with the Old Trafford club in his playing career. He finished with 253 goals for United. In addition, he netted 53 goals for the England national team.
