Wayne Rooney has revealed Everton owner Farhad Moshiri was the reason behind his departure from Goodison Park.
Rooney went on to join DC United of Major League Soccer and has netted four times since then. The former Manchester United forward ended his 13 year association with Manchester United in 2017 and inked a two year deal with his boyhood club.
But his return to Merseyside short lived as he decided to leave the club despite finding the net pretty often. The former English international had found the net 11times until the Christmas and was the club’s highest scorer.
There had been rumours of his possible rift with then manager Sam Allardyce but Rooney has made it clear it was the Iranian owner who didn’t want him at the club. “[Leaving] was the owner’s decision. He knew he was going to bring a lot of players in and wanted to free money up. That’s his decision but I’m disappointed how it happened.
“I started to think: ‘Is there something being said?’ So I went to see Sam [Allardyce]. I said ‘listen, I’m not a kid, what’s going on – do you want me or not?’
“Sam was the honest one. He said, ‘If I’m still here next season you might not play as much but I still want you’. But then he said: ‘I’m not sure the owner has the same opinion’. And trying to get an honest answer out of the owner took three months.
“I kept trying and trying. All I wanted was clarity. Even [current Everton boss] Marco Silva was surprised because before he came in he was told I was leaving – but that was before I was told I could leave.”
