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Has Rooney’s time come and what does the future hold?

Manchester-United-v-Middlesbrough (1)Wayne Rooney has been awarded a testimonial by Manchester United, to be held next summer, and it has fuelled rumours that the United captain is coming to the end of his United career.

Testimonials are usually given to players at the end of their career and the money raised gave some security to footballers at a time when they could earn more in an everyday job. These days the money is given to charity and Rooney will be donating to children’s charities via his Wayne Rooney Foundation.

Louis van Gaal is getting sick of talking about Rooney’s form and there is a sense that the manager wants to allow the England man to fade into obscurity rather than be publicly cast aside. Breaking the England goal scoring record was a high point for Rooney but his club form has left much to be desired and many United supporters have openly stated they want his time at the club to end.

The lack of a big name striker signing over the summer gave Rooney the freedom of the striking role at Old Trafford, yet his performances have been suboptimal leading to suggestions his time at the very top is coming to a close.

A parting of the ways might be best for all involved but what would the future hold instore for Wayne Rooney? I leave the obvious until last.

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Become a pundit

This is a bit of a non-starter. Rooney isn’t exactly eloquent and his broad Scouse accent would make him difficult to understand for the wider audience. Carragher gets by but he is far better at expressing his opinion than Rooney and doesn’t require every other sound to be “errrm” or to finish every sentence with “you know”, you know. Jamie also benefits from quick wit which works well in the acceptable banter of the Sky Sports studio.

Own horses

Many footballers take an interest in horse racing, Rooney’s ex-manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, and ex-team mate, Michael Owen, are well known for their love of horses so it’s no surprise that Rooney, too, owns a race horse. Rooney’s latest horse, Announcement has won twice and placed three times since Rooney bought her last April so bookmark this bookmakers’ site to check when she is next running, Betway covers all the races so you’ll find what you need there. Announcement is co-owned with Johnny Evans, Jon O’Shea and Michael Carrick and is trained by Brian Ellison.

This isn’t Rooney’s first foray into the world of horse ownership having retired two horses previously. Horseracing seems to be a passion for Rooney and possibly something he’ll dedicate more time to when he retires.

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Michael Owen was often accused of caring more about his racing results than his football ones and that coupled with injury saw him retire relatively early. Rooney has just turned 30 so it might be too soon for him to retire but don’t be surprised if he follows Owen footsteps.

Try different sports

Freddie Flintoff, as well as taking part in various TV shows, attempted to break into the world of boxing after hanging up his cricket bat. Rooney is a keen sportsman and may want to dabble with other sports too, when he retires from football.

Based on the video that went round of him boxing in his kitchen he might be better served in a non-contact sport.

Move clubs

Continuing his football career is the obvious next step for Rooney should he leave United in the next season or so and the most likely destination would be his boyhood club, Everton.

Roberto Martinez has shown he is not afraid of putting ageing players into his line-up like Gareth Barry but with Romelu Lukaku a powerful spearhead in attack and Ross Barkley a bright spark in midfield linking up play you have to wonder where Rooney would fit.

Wayne would certainly have the talent and desire to play for Everton but it’s questionable whether an aged Rooney would make it into their side regularly.

Another option might be for Rooney to follow Roy Keane in leaving Manchester United for Celtic. Rooney is known to be a follower of the Hoops and might find the pace of Scottish football more suited to him as he winds his career down. He would almost be guaranteed European football as well and is likely to be a regular starter.

Rooney’s testimonial opponents haven’t been announced yet and if it turns out to be Celtic he may follow Keane’s example further in playing 45 minutes for each side as he bids farewell to Old Trafford and hello to the Celtic fans.

Do you think it’s time for Rooney to move on?