‘Sour grapes’: Some Everton fans respond to Wayne Rooney’s comments on exit

Wayne Rooney left Everton in the summer after just one season in his second stint at the club.

Former Everton captain Wayne Rooney has blamed Farhad Moshiri for his exit from the club, but Toffees’ fans have jumped to the owner’s defence.

The Englishman joined MLS side DC United on a free transfer in the summer, just one year after rejoining the club from Manchester United in July 2017.

Rooney came up through the Everton academy and moved to Old Trafford as an 18-year-old, making 559 appearances and scoring 253 goals in 13 years at Manchester United before making the switch back to Goodison Park.

The return to his boyhood club was ultimately disappointing, as the 32-year-old scored just 11 goals in 36 appearances during a turbulent season in which the Blues went through three managers.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Rooney claimed he wanted to stay at the club and that former manager Sam Allardyce wanted to keep the forward but Moshiri was keen to get rid of him.

“[Leaving] was the owner’s decision. He knew he was going to bring a lot of players in and wanted to free money up. That’s his decision but I’m disappointed how it happened,” said the former England international.

“Sam [Allardyce] was the honest one. He said, ‘If I’m still here next season you might not play as much but I still want you’. But then he said: ‘I’m not sure the owner has the same opinion’. And trying to get an honest answer out of the owner took three months.”

“I kept trying and trying. All I wanted was clarity. Even [current Everton boss] Marco Silva was surprised because before he came in he was told I was leaving – but that was before I was told I could leave.”

Everton fans responded to the striker’s claims on Twitter, supporting their owners decision and reminding Rooney that he had turned his back on them when he left to join United in 2004.