Wayne Rooney is back in the Match of the Day studio for the start of the new Premier League season after a summer marked by a dramatic physical transformation, surgery, and a new presenting role.
The former Manchester United legend has shed a considerable amount of weight and adopted a clean-shaven look, drawing praise from viewers during his punditry duties at the World Cup.
Return to Match of the Day
Rooney will analyse the opening weekend of Premier League action alongside host Mark Chapman and fellow pundit Alan Shearer. The BBC programme makes its comeback tonight (Saturday, August 22), broadcast live on BBC One.
The panel will cover every fixture in the top flight, including United's visit to newly-promoted Hull City on Saturday afternoon.
Body Transformation Praised
Supporters flocked to social media to praise the ex-United star on his body transformation. One posted: "Is it me or does Rooney look noticeably thinner? Looks better clean-shaven, too."
Another remarked: "Is it me or has Rooney lost weight? Good on ya fella." A third commented: "Rooney must be working on his weight," while one declared: "Rooney looking proper healthy and noticeably lost loads of weight. Great to see."
New Presenting Role
Rooney is also co-presenting a new programme alongside influencer Mark Goldbridge that focuses entirely on United matters. The show, titled Stick to United with Wayne Rooney, broadcasts under Gary Neville's Overlap brand.
Neville paid a seven-figure sum to acquire Goldbridge's YouTube channels in April, bringing The United Stand and That's Football into his expanding network. The programme has been developed as part of a distribution agreement with Disney+ which will air 50 Stick to United and 40 Stick to Football episodes this season.
The Overlap was established by Neville in 2021 and has expanded into a range of sports, including rugby and cricket. Highlighting Rooney and Goldbridge's new programme, the former United defender states that it "expands our reach without compromising our identity."
Surgery Results
Rooney also underwent surgery this summer to repair a broken nose that he has had for nearly a decade. He discussed the operation in the first episode of Stick to United after declining to have the broken bone treated for years.
He said: "I had surgery on my nose last week. I'm actually really lucky I've got no black eyes. But I've still got two plastic tubes up my nose which are coming out very soon. I can't wait for them to come out. They've cut here so that's all stitched. It's a little bit uncomfortable."
He initially broke his nose during a 3-1 victory over Preston in the FA Cup 11 years ago. The problem deteriorated during Rooney's spell at DC United, yet he delayed having it treated until this summer.
Shedding light on how the injury first occurred, the 40-year-old added: "I broke my nose against Preston in the FA Cup. It was when all that Wade Barrett stuff came out because it was a bit of a dive. I won a penalty. I broke my nose in that game and then, when I went to DC United, I broke my nose again. That was a bad one."
"I needed surgery but I never had it. I put it off. This summer I thought I'd get the World Cup out of the way and I'll get it done. I had it done last week. It went well but these tubes are horrible and they're still in."
