The four sons of Wayne and Coleen Rooney are making their own moves in football, with varying degrees of success. The youngest, Cass, was recently released by Everton's academy, while eldest Kai has signed a scholarship with Manchester United.
Kai Rooney's Manchester United path
Kai, the eldest, impressed in his early academy career with United, ending the 2021/22 season with 56 goals and 28 assists in all competitions. In January 2026, the 16-year-old made his first Old Trafford appearance for the club when the U18s beat Derby 2-1 in an FA Youth Cup match, but last season was cut short through injury.
He has since signed a scholarship this summer and has high hopes of breaking into Michael Carrick's first team. Speaking on the Disney show The Real Rooneys, Wayne said: "Kai wants his own legacy, and I'll be there to support him. What I don't want is him to get a scholarship or get a contract because of me. I want it to be because of him in his own right."
Klay and Kit's different directions
Klay, the second eldest, is also part of United's youth system. In 2025, Wayne watched the 13-year-old play for United's U12s in a youth tournament in Spain, where his side faced UE Quart at the MICFootball competition in Girona. Klay has reportedly been travelling to tournaments on the continent with United since around eight years old.
Kit, meanwhile, appears to have turned to darts. Coleen told The Sun: "The third one... this is the darts one - he wants to become a darts player at the minute." The 10-year-old celebrated his ninth birthday with a darts-themed party in January 2025 and met his idol Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace after Littler won his maiden World Championship title.
Cass's release from Everton
Cass, eight, was part of Everton's academy until recently. On the Therapy Crouch podcast, Coleen described breaking the news to him: "The youngest one, he got let go. That was the hardest thing. Because the older two had been there and stayed there at United, Cass was at Everton."
"It was only Under-7s and he is a massive Evertonian, so he's got a season ticket and he loves Everton. So, the fact that he was there was everything to him. We knew, because it was a big squad, and obviously, then going into the Under-9s, you get signed then. We knew he wasn't going to stay because he wasn't one of the stronger ones there and the day came when we got the phone call."
Coleen added: "I was like, 'Cass, I've had a call and you're not going to be going into the next [year at Everton]' and he threw his head into his hands and he just burst out crying. But an hour later? He forgot about it. He was fine. He still plays for his grassroots team and he was on the phone straight away to my mum and dad saying, 'Everton have released me.'"
