Wayne Rooney has been involved in a handful of charity football matches since retiring and his superb strike during the Nexon’s Icons Match shows he hasn’t missed a step
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney rolled back the years with a trademark long-range goal in a charity exhibition match this weekend. The former England captain hung up his boots back in 2021 and has since turned his focus to management and punditry – but that hasn’t stopped him from making the odd return to the field.
Rooney has turned out for Soccer Aid as well as for the Manchester United Foundation recently and made another appearance during the Nexon’s Icons Match this weekend. The idea of the game was to have 11 legendary attacking players face 11 former defending greats, with Rooney joining a team that included Thierry Henry, Eden Hazard, Clarence Seedorf, Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba.
The other team featured Manchester United legends Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, while the like Carles Puyol, Sol Campbell, Alessandro Nesta and Claude Makelele also took part.
Despite the wealth of talent in the attacking side – named ‘FC Spear’, they were defeated 2-1 by the defenders’ side ‘Shield United’ thanks to late goals from Inter Milan legend Maicon and Jooho Park. Rooney, though, had put FC Spear ahead early in the game.
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With just 26 minutes on the clock, Rooney put his side into the lead as FC Shield attempted to overplay on the ball close to their own penalty area – with one player eventually dispossessed.
A long ball then fell straight into the path of Rooney, and he took on a first-time shot that curled straight into the top left-hand corner past Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas.
Rooney was mobbed by his team-mates after his sensational effort as the likes of Gareth Bale, Gerrard and Drogba all joined the celebrations. But FC Spear’s joy turned to despair as Shield United came from behind to secure victory in the game, which was staged in Seoul, South Korea.
Rooney is taking some time off from management after being sacked by Plymouth Argyle last year. He was previously axed by Birmingham City following only three months in charge and is now commonly seen as a pundit on Match of the Day and TNT Sports.
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