Wayne Rooney opens up as ‘heartbroken’ son launched from Premier League academy
Wayne Rooney has opened up on the moment his heartbroken son was released from a Premier League academy and burst into tears over the decision
Wayne and Coleen Rooney have four son’s(Image: Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Disney+)
Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s youngest son Cass has been released from Everton’s academy.
The former Toffees and Manchester United legend and TV personality have four boys: Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass. Their eldest, Kai, 16, is flourishing for United’s U18s after securing a scholarship this summer. His younger sibling Klay, 13, is also part of the setup at Old Trafford.
Cass, 8, had been a fixture at The Blues’ academy until recently. Speaking on the Therapy Crouch podcast with ex-Liverpool favourite Peter Crouch and his wife, model Abbey Clancy, Wayne and Coleen revealed their son’s heartbreak after discovering his time at Everton was over.
Cass, 8, had been part of Everton’s set-up(Image: Instagram/Coleen Rooney)
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“The youngest one, he got let go,” Coleen said. “That was the hardest thing. Because the older two had been there and stayed there at United, Cass was at Everton. It was only U7s and he is a massive Evertonian, so he’s got a season ticket and he loves Everton,” reports the Mirror.
“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 U9s, 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.
Wayne and Coleen spoke about it on the Therapy Crouch podcast(Image: YouTube)
“I phoned him [Wayne] and I was like, ‘You’re going to have to tell him,’ and then I had a moment before he [Wayne] came in and he [Cass] was on his own in the house.
“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’.”
When questioned about how the pair dealt with their son’s devastating rejection from the Blues, Wayne explained: “If you think about, anything really, even in school, you have people in higher sets, that’s part of life isn’t it?”
“In football, the amount of players we’ve played with [gestures to Crouch] 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.
“And you forget, they’re so young. 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’.”
