Rooney reveals mental preparation needed to watch Kai play after son asked him to stay away

Wayne Rooney has admitted he mentally prepares himself before attending his children’s football matches, knowing he will face constant requests for photographs from fans — a situation that previously led his eldest son, Kai, to ask him to stop coming to games entirely.

The Manchester United all-time leading goalscorer, now 40, told the Guardian: “When the kids go to football tournaments and there are going to be lots of parents there, I know I’m going to be ambushed. So I have to be ready mentally to take pictures with people, and do it with a smile on my face when all you want to do really is watch your kid play.”

The issue came to wider public attention in 2024 when Coleen Rooney, appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, revealed that Kai had asked his father to stop attending grassroots tournaments because the crowds he attracted made it impossible for Wayne to actually watch the football. “He just said, ‘Oh, Dad, there’s no point you coming because you don’t even watch me play anyway,’” Coleen recalled.

Despite that request, Rooney attended Kai’s Old Trafford debut in the FA Youth Cup earlier this year. And when asked whether he ever simply declines to pose for pictures, he was clear: “No, I do pictures because I remember when I was a kid being a fan and going for autographs.”

Kai, 16, is progressing through United’s academy after securing a scholarship. He has already made his Premier League 2 debut for the under-21s, scored for the under-18s, and featured for the under-19s in this season’s UEFA Youth League. One of his teammates in that competition is Jacey Carrick, son of first-team head coach Michael Carrick.

The family have also been in the public eye through the docuseries The Real Rooneys, in which Wayne addressed his son’s ambitions directly. “Kai wants his own legacy, and I’ll be there to support him,” he said, adding that he was keen for Kai to earn any future contract on merit alone.