Wayne Rooney says 25-year-old ‘should never have been playing’ over him when he was at Everton

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Wayne Rooney has been vocal about his second stint at Everton lately, featuring on numerous outlets to reminisce.

Having told the Stick to Football podcast why he felt he had to leave the club, these latest comments detail why he returned, and the one thing he wanted to achieve before calling time on his career in England.

However, some questionable decisions made by David Unsworth nearly threw that opportunity away.

He was not to be denied though.

What Wayne Rooney said about his second stint at Everton

Recalling his remarkable hat trick at home to West Ham United, in which he capped off his scoring with a stunning first-time finish from inside his own half, he spoke about that night.

In front of a floodlit Goodison Park, and the incoming manager set to replace Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce watched on as the 38-year-old put in a masterful display.

However, that nearly did not happen, as the caretaker boss, Unsworth, had previously been favouring the youth.

Rooney told Marva; ‘Such a great feeling because I’d been left out the team for a few games. David Unsworth came in as the interim manager and he obviously had come up from the U21s so he left me out for Beni Baningime, we played Chelsea away and there was another game.

‘He was promoting the young players as well, Beni should never have been playing ahead of me, so then Sam Allardyce was coming in after this game so I think Unsy just put me back in.

‘What I wanted to do when I went back to Everton was score in front of the Gwladys Street again and I hadn’t up until this moment, so to score my third goal from inside my own half and my hat trick goal at the Gwladys Street was a great feeling.’

The 25-year-old midfielder now plays for Hearts in Scotland.

How successful was Wayne Rooney’s return to Everton?

It was the romantic return of an England legend to his boyhood club, and truly one for the football purists.

But not everyone at Goodison Park was happy when it was revealed he would be joining from Manchester United.

Especially given he came during the same summer window where Koeman brought in Davy Klaassen and Gylfi Sigurdsson, all of whom wanted to play in the number ten role.

This proved to be the Dutchman’s downfall as his side simply could not function, and his sacking became an inevitability.

But as for Rooney, he remained one of few constant streams of goals, cracking double figures with ten Premier League strikes.

However, it became clear that he was no longer wanted, and he was swiftly shipped out, despite that aforementioned screamer winning the club’s goal of the season award.

Really too old for the football they wanted to play, the 38-year-old was a fine stop-gap that fulfilled his final wishes as a footballer. It was a shame it came during such a tumultuous tenure, and the start of the downfall under Farhad Moshiri.