Wayne Rooney’s son Kai is a highly-rated talent in Manchester United’s academy but the former England captain is unable to watch him in action for a heartbreaking reason
Wayne Rooney has been told not to attend son Kai’s games(Image: The Wayne Rooney Show)
Wayne Rooney finds himself barred from watching his son, Kai, play for Manchester United due to his overwhelming celebrity status.
The youngster, 15, is the eldest of Rooney and wife Coleen’s four boys – alongside Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six. Kai, a striker following in his legendary father’s footsteps, became part of the Red Devils’ academy in 2016, mirroring the path of Rooney Sr, who marks his 40th birthday today.
Whilst the teenager has considerable ground to cover before reaching professional level, he’s considered a promising prospect at Old Trafford.
Sadly for the former England skipper, he must observe his son’s matches from afar after it emerged that the aspiring footballer requested his dad stay away from games due to the overwhelming media circus that follows him.
This heartbreaking detail came to light during Coleen’s stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here last year. The 39-year-old claimed second place in the hit reality programme behind McFly’s Danny Jones, and it was whilst in the jungle that she revealed her son’s difficult choice.
Kai is following in his dad’s footsteps(Image: JMEnternational, Getty Images)
“That’s the thing with kids I think, it’s hard to go on days out,” Coleen explained last December. “Kai told Wayne to stop coming to football games, when he played grassroots tournaments and stuff because he used to get swarmed and he couldn’t even watch the game.
“How do you say to all of these kids, ‘Go away, I’m watching my son?’ Adults, it’s different you could speak to them, so he [Kai] just said, ‘Oh, dad there’s no point you coming because you don’t even watch me play anyway.’ Which is sad, but it can’t be helped anyway. At the same time, the fans help you along the way and get you where you are.”
Whilst he might not be prowling the sidelines during Kai’s matches, he remains instrumental in shaping his footballing development. Rooney has previously admitted he tends to leave the coaching to the club’s staff but ensures he shares his wisdom to his sons during home training sessions.
Kai is progressing through the Manchester United academy(Image: Manchester United, Manchester United via Getty Images)
During last month’s instalment of The Wayne Rooney Show, the 40 year old revealed: “I’m quite lucky where I live as I’ve got a little pitch there and when the kids say, ‘we’re coming on the pitch’, all they’re gonna do is tie the balls on the top corner,” he told Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kelly Somers and Kae Kurd.
“So when I say to them when I was younger, I remember setting a little square to practice passing into it and just playing off the wall.
“So I’m very similar, [I tell them] ‘you need to work on your speed, you need to work on your technique and control.’ Otherwise, you go out and you’re just like, ‘watch me hit the ball in the top corner’.”
Don’t miss a thing with football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that’s it, job done. You’ll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here
Considering Kai’s position as the offspring of one of England’s most legendary players, Rooney lauded his mental fortitude for handling the extra scrutiny and spotlight that comes with being his son.
During the Super Cup NI tournament in Northern Ireland, Rooney told BBC Sport: “I just let him play. I think they started the competition well, they won 3-0, he scored the penalty and got an assist.
“So I think he started OK. He just plays and that’s all he’s done during his time playing. I think it’s very unfair for anyone to expect him to go and do all kinds.
“He’s just playing, he’s a 15-year-old boy playing his football, enjoying it. Of course he gets different attention to a lot of his team-mates but I think he handles that really well.”
