The former Manchester United and England striker has embarked on his journey as a head coach. Despite having already taken on a coaching role, he expressed a willingness to learn under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, even if it meant joining the arch-гιᴠals of his former team. The 38-year-old pointed to Mikel Arteta’s development at Arsenal, who progressed after serving as Guardiola’s assistant, to support his stance.

Asked if he would accept a job as an assistant, Rooney told the Stick to Football podcast: “It depends. If Pep Guardiola comes in and asks me to be his assistant, you’d walk there! But you see what Arteta is doing now and I strongly believe a lot of that is from learning what Guardiola was doing and so it depends on what the situation is.”

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Rooney has undertaken three managerial roles. Initially, he spent a year and a half at Derby, then transitioned to become the boss of D.C. United in MLS. However, his tenure there saw limited success, with only 14 wins out of 53 games before his departure in October of the previous year. Subsequently, he joined Birmingham, but his stint with the Championship side was far from successful. After managing just two victories in 15 games, Rooney faced dismissal from the Birmingham board, which included NFL legend Tom Brady.