Wayne Rooney could be set to make an immediate return to football after he left his role as head coach of Plymouth Argyle on December 31.
Rooney, 39, left the Championship club after overseeing a torrid run of results. The Liverpool-born former Manchester United forward ended his tenure at Argyle sporting just four wins from 23 Championship matches, with six draws and 13 defeats.
His team conceded 51 goals and netted just 22 times during his reign.
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Rooney leaves the club at the foot of the second tier with just 18 points to show for their efforts this term.
The football club confirmed his departure with a statement posted to their official website on Tuesday.
“Plymouth Argyle can confirm that the club and Head Coach Wayne Rooney have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect,” read the post.
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“Departing the club with Rooney will be Assistant Head Coach Mike Phelan and first-team coach Simon Ireland.”
The club then went on to “thank” Rooney and his staff for their “efforts” and wished them well in their future endeavours.
Quotes from Rooney were also included in the statement, with the former England international voicing his thanks to the club and fans.
However, the former United captain may not be out of work for long.
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According to the Sun, sources have revealed that Rooney is “likely to be offered a mega-bucks deal to work as a football pundit”, having previously impressed during stints with ITV and Sky.
The outlet reported that a TV insider said: “Wayne is regarded as one of the best pundits in the business.
"He’s very, very knowledgeable about the game.
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"And even though he’s actually quite a shy person, he really feels at home in a TV studio.
"It’s been a rubbish end to 2024 for Wayne, but he’s not going to be out of work for long.
"He’ll be offered punditry work straight away, and there’s interest from Sky in a potential long-term deal to tie him down as a pundit.
"Wayne still harbours ambitions of making it as a manager.
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"But, like Gary Neville, it might end up being the case that he can carve out a more successful and lucrative career as a pundit rather than as a manager in the dugout."
It is unclear if Rooney would be willing to call time on his managerial career or whether said broadcasters would be willing to bring him on board.
Topics: Wayne Rooney, Football, Sky Sports, Liverpool
Luke Davies