Soccer

The highs and lows of Wayne Rooney's career

Soccer star Wayne Rooney 
Soccer star Wayne Rooney  Soccer star Wayne Rooney 

Wayne Rooney's MLS career looks to be heading for an ignoble end after his sending-off against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night.

As the DC United striker prepares for a move back to England to assume a player-coach role at Derby, we look at the highs and lows of the 33-year-old's career...

HIGH - Scores for Everton against Arsenal in October 2002 at the age of 16 years and 360 days, making him the youngest Premier League goalscorer at the time.

HIGH -  Becomes the youngest player to play for England in February 2003 at 17 years and 111 days in a friendly defeat against Australia.

HIGH - Becomes the most expensive British teenager by joining Manchester United in 2004 in a deal that eventually rises to £27million.

LOW - Sent off in a Champions League draw at Villarreal in September 2005 after sarcastically clapping in the referee's face.

LOW - Sent off in the World Cup 2006 quarter-final defeat to Portugal for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. England went on to lose on penalties.

HIGH -  Ends the 2007-08 campaign as both a Premier League and Champions League winner as United defeat Chelsea in Moscow.

HIGH -  Signs five-year extension with United, just two days after saying he would not and wanted to leave in October 2010.

HIGH -  Scores arguably his best United goal in February 2011, an overhead kick in the Manchester derby to give United a 2-1 victory.

LOW - Sent off in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro for a foul on Miodrag Dzudovic and banned for the first three games of the finals in Poland and Ukraine, subsequently reduced to two on appeal.

HIGH -  Wins his 100th England cap in November 2014 and scores a penalty as England defeat Slovenia in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

HIGH -  In September 2015, breaks Sir Bobby Charlton's England scoring record with his 50th goal in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Switzerland.

HIGH - Earns his 116th cap in September 2016 to make him England's most-capped outfield player.

HIGH -  Surpasses Charlton as United's all-time record scorer by coming off the bench to net against Stoke in January 2017.

LOW - Receives two-year driving ban and ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid work in September 2017 after pleading guilty to a drink-driving charge.

LOW - In December 2018 is arrested for public intoxication at Washington's Dulles airport after arriving on a flight from Saudi Arabia. Says he was left "disorientated" by taking prescribed sleeping tablets while drinking.

HIGH - Seals a deal to return from the US earlier than planned and become a player-coach at Derby from January 2020.

LOW - Made his frustrations about the MLS plain in a tweet bemoaning DC United's unnecessary "12-hour travel day" - shortly after ranting at the fourth official during defeat at the Vancouver Whitecaps.

LOW - Is sent off during DC United's MLS defeat to New York Red Bulls after a VAR review decreed he had elbowed Red Bulls midfielder Cristian Casseres Jr in the neck.