A 14-year-old Wayne Rooney gave Jamie Carragher a scary warning in a nightclub

Wayne Rooney always knew he was going to make it as an elite footballer, even before his debut as Jamie Carragher revealed on the Scouse House podcast.

Wayne Rooney was just 14-years-old when he first ran into Jamie Carragher in a nightclub in Liverpool, and he made himself known to the then Liverpool defender.

As a guest on the Scouse House podcast, Carragher told the story of his first encounter with the teenage Rooney after naming him in his all-time XI of footballers from Liverpool, which included the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Steven Gerrard.

The ex-Liverpool defender named Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney as the two best English players of the last 30 years before telling his story about the latter.

Carragher revealed: "To be honest I’d heard his name a little bit, but he introduced himself to me.

"This was in a nightclub - in the State - State nightclub. I must have only been about 20, he’d have been only been about 14! He come up to me. He was quite funny: 'I’m Rooney, watch out for me'.

"I don't know, it was something like that, it was along them lines but he was just being his typical, mischievous self, but he was a typical Scouser - on the front foot, fancied himself, and why not when you’ve got ability like that?"

Wayne Rooney had secured a lucrative move to Manchester United by the time he was 18.

Rooney made his Everton debut in 2002 at just 16 years old, and really put his name on the map a few days before his 17th birthday, when he scored a last-minute winner against Arsenal off the bench, ending their 30-match unbeaten streak as the Premier League's youngest ever goalscorer.

In the summer of 2004, Rooney signed for Manchester United for £25 million and never looked back.

In 13 years at Old Trafford, the Everton academy product won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, three League Cups, an FA Cup and the Europa League among other trophies.

He also hold the all-time United scoring record, with 253 goals - though heretired after stints at Everton, Derby and D.C United.

Safe to say then, that Rooney was right to back himself and warn Carragher of his imminent arrival on the scene.

After managing at Derby, he returned to the MLS to manage D.C United and is currently fighting for a play-off spot in the Eastern conference.

Topics: Jamie Carragher, Premier League, Wayne Rooney, Everton, Manchester United

Joshua Nair

Freelance football writer.

@joshnair10