Wayne Rooney Confirms International Retirement After 2018 World Cup
Wayne Rooney has confirmed that the World Cup 2018 will be his last tournament with England, and that he will retire from international football after the competition in Russia.
Rooney has been England’s captain for the last two years after being given the armband by former manager Roy Hodgson, when Steven Gerrard announced his international retirement after England’s shambolic 2014 World Cup campaign.
He is also England’s current record goalscorer with 53 goals, beating Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 goals which stood for around 49 years. He has been hailed by many as one of the greatest footballers England has ever produced, and the greatest English player of his generation.
He spoke about his retirement by stating: “I know Russia will be my last opportunity to do anything so I’m going to try and enjoy these two years and hopefully end my time with England on a high.
“I said before the Euros I enjoy playing in this team, I’m excited by the players and that’s the case still. I said as soon as the Euros finished that I wanted to continue and I made Sam aware of that when he got the job.”
Allardyce confirmed that Rooney would remain England’s captain and that there was no doubt regarding the decision.
“He reiterated I would continue as captain,” the 30-year-old continued. “I was pleased. It’s nice to captain your country and I’m looking forward to the new regime.”
Rooney has been playing as a no.10 for Manchester United under Jose Mourinho this season and has scored 1 goal along with 2 assists in 3 games. However, Allardyce has listed him as a midfielder for the upcoming games.
This does not bother the English forward, however, who will become England’s most capped outfield player of all time in his next appearance for the side.
“It’s the manager’s decision. We haven’t spoken about it but I’m sure we will in the next few days, I’m ready to play whether it’s midfield or elsewhere.
“It’s early days in the camp – we’ve only been here a day. We’ll find out how Sam wants us to play in certain games, but I’m looking forward to it, to see what type of training sessions he’ll do.”
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