WAYNE ROONEY is being tipped for a shock return to management – in non-league.
The former England ace was sacked by Plymouth Argyle on New Year’s Eve.
GettyWayne Rooney is a shock target for non-league side Macclesfield[/caption]
GettyRobbie Savage led the club to the Northern Premier League title last season[/caption]
Rooney left the Pilgrims bottom of the Championship after a dismal seven-month spell.
The 39-year-old won just 5 of his 25 games in charge at Home Park.
Plymouth were eventually relegated to League One despite an upturn in form under Miron Muslic.
SunSport transfer expert Alan Nixon claims Rooney is now a target for non-league Macclesfield.
The club play in the National League North after reforming following the liquidation of Macclesfield Town in 2020.
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Robbie Savage is currently Macclesfield’s head coach.
But he is being eyed by Forest Green Rovers, with Nixon claiming Rooney is on the club’s radar should Savage leave.
Macclesfield emphatically sealed promotion from the Northern Premier League last season, amassing over 100 points.
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Savage joined last summer and has won 40 of his 51 games in charge.
Since leaving Plymouth, Rooney has worked as a pundit for Amazon Prime.
The former Manchester United striker first went into management with US side DC United in 2020.
He has since taken the reins at Derby County and Birmingham, before his ill-fated tenure in Devon.
Rooney recently turned out for England at the annual charity game Soccer Aid.
Wayne Rooney’s record-breaking career
WAYNE Rooney took the football world by storm when he made his debut for 2002 with Everton.
He quickly became the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 342 days and was named the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year.
The striker joined Manchester United in 2004 and spent 13 years at Old Trafford. He went on to make 559 appearances for the Red Devils and scored 253 goals. To this day he is still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Following his spell with United, Rooney returned to Everton for a season. He also spent one-season stints with D.C. United and Derby County at the end of his career.
As well as his impressive club career, Rooney is also England’s second-highest goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, behind only Harry Kane.
After hanging up his boots, the England icon turned to a career in management.
He took charge of Derby County in 2020 and managed to just about save the club from relegation from the Championship at the end of his first season.
However, with Derby handed a 21-point deduction the following campaign, he was unable to keep them up again and subsequently left.
Then came a 15-month spell in charge of MLS side D.C. United. He failed to impress during his time in Washington and parted ways with the club at the end of the 2023 regular season.
Rooney was controversially handed the Birmingham job in October 2023, replacing John Eustace with the club doing well and sixth in the Championship table.
However, in 15 games he suffered nine defeats and managed just two wins. He was sacked in January 2024 with Birmingham down in 20th. The club were relegated to League One at the end of the campaign.
He returned to management in May with Plymouth Argyle but managed just five wins in 25 games. The United legend now finds himself out of work once again.
And he refused to be drawn on his immediate future, suggesting punditry was currently his focus.
Rooney said: “Obviously just doing some TV work at the minute, so that’s what I’m doing.
“I’m enjoying it. So, that’s where I’ll be.”
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