Kai Rooney, son of former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, is carving out his own football career at the club's academy, but his journey has not been straightforward. The 16-year-old has already scored for the Under-18s and made his Old Trafford debut in the FA Youth Cup, yet his family name has brought challenges his peers do not face.
Wayne banned from matches
Kai, the eldest of the Rooneys' four children, was the first to pursue serious football ambitions. However, his father's presence at grassroots games became a problem. Coleen Rooney, Kai's mother, explained on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2024 that Kai told Wayne to stop attending his matches because he "used to get swarmed and he couldn't even watch the game."
"How do you say to all of these kids, 'Go away, I'm watching my son?' Adults, it's different, you could speak to them. So he (Kai) just said, 'Oh, dad there's no point you coming because you don't even watch me play anyway.' Which is sad, but it can't be helped anyway. At the same time, the fans help you along the way and get you where you are," Coleen said.
That ban has since been lifted, with Wayne spotted at several of Kai's matches last season.
Brother's painful release
While Kai has progressed through United's ranks, his younger brother Cass faced a different setback. Cass spent time in Everton's academy but was released after playing for the Under-7s. Coleen recounted the moment on The Therapy Crouch podcast: "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."
Cass recovered quickly, however. "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,'" Coleen added. Wayne offered perspective: "I said to him, 'I didn't join Everton's academy until I was nine, so actually you've got loads of time. Enjoy playing football and if it comes, it comes.'"
Wayne's message for Kai
In the trailer for documentary The Real Rooneys, Wayne reminded Kai that football is a continuous learning process. "I was still learning up until the last game I ever played," he told his son. Wayne also encouraged Kai to take his GCSEs while progressing at United, and praised how the teenager has handled attention.
"I think it's very unfair for anyone to expect him to go and do all kinds," Wayne said. "He's just playing, he's a 15-year-old boy playing his football, enjoying it. Of course he gets different attention to a lot of his team-mates but I think he handles that really well."
Looking past the name
Wayne is keen for Kai to be judged on ability rather than heritage. "Kai wants his own legacy, and I'll be there to support him," he said on The Real Rooneys. "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. It's something he's wanted for a long time, so [I'll] be proud, really proud of him to get a scholarship."
Kai did secure the scholarship, as did Michael Carrick's son Jacey. Both will be eligible to sign professional terms after turning 17; for Kai, that date is less than a month away.
