Wayne and Coleen Rooney have revealed the emotional moment their youngest son, Cass, learned he had been released by Everton's academy. The couple, who have four sons—Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass—shared the story during an appearance on the Therapy Crouch podcast with Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy.
Cass, aged eight, had been a regular at Everton's academy until his recent departure. His older brothers Kai, 16, and Klay, 13, are both registered at Manchester United, with Kai securing a scholarship this summer and impressing at Under-18 level. Cass, however, was a passionate Everton supporter with a season ticket, making his exit particularly difficult.
Coleen describes the difficult phone call
Coleen explained that Cass was released at Under-7s level, a stage where the squad was large and players were not yet signed. "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," she said.
She recalled the moment she told Cass the news: "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.'"
Wayne's advice to his son
Wayne offered a perspective grounded in his own experience, telling Cass that many players who do not make it at top clubs still forge careers elsewhere. "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,'" he said.
He added that rejection is part of life, comparing it to being placed in different sets at school. "In football, the amount of players we've played with who maybe don't make it at Man United, Everton or Liverpool, but then they go and play [elsewhere], so there's opportunity to have a career," he said.
Kai's own path at Manchester United
The couple recently invited cameras into their home for the Disney+ series The Real Rooneys. In the programme, Wayne spoke about his eldest son Kai's ambitions, saying: "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."
Wayne, who scored 253 goals for Manchester United and is the club's all-time leading scorer, made clear he wants his sons to succeed on their own merits as they continue their footballing journeys.
