Kai Rooney, son of Wayne, recently signed a a scholarship deal with Manchester United
Manchester United starlet Kai Rooney has claimed that “work starts now” after signing a scholarship deal at Old Trafford. The son of Wayne Rooney, 16, has been part of United’s youth ranks since the age of 11.
His deal marks a huge moment in his young career. A scholarship allows youngsters to continue studying while pursuing a career in football, and to sign a professional contract when they turn 17.
The milestone means Kai’s ban on his sponsored boots has also been lifted and taking to Instagram, he posted four photos of his signing day. The lead snap showed him signing the deal, while Kai captioned the series with the three words, suggesting that he is ready for the next challenge.
The young forward can no longer play for United’s Under-16s side. Having already celebrated his 16th birthday before the August 31 cut-off, he will now permanently step up to the next age group and, in doing so, will no longer be prevented from wearing his sponsored Puma football boots.
United have a club policy whereby players in the U16s or younger are not permitted to wear sponsored boots. Instead, every player must wear the same footwear.
Rooney Jnr. inked the sponsorship deal with the brand in 2022 when he was just 12 years old. Speaking last year on The Smith Brothers: Not A Podcast, Wayne said: “He’s obviously with Puma but when he plays for the Manchester United U16s, something which I really like is he can’t wear his Puma boots.
“All the academy have to wear the same boots. They do it because there’s people from areas where they can’t afford certain boots so I think it’s really good. But he’s played for the U18s a few times and he can then wear his Puma boots. He’s doing well to be fair to him.”
Kai’s scholarship deal has naturally gone down well in the Rooney household. His mum, Coleen, commented on a picture posted by the official United Instagram account showing the club’s first-year scholars signing their respective deals.
She wrote: “Brilliant boys,” along with a fire emoji, a love heart and clapping hands. Wayne, shared a story of his son with the caption: “Proud of you,” along with a love heart and a pen-signing emoji.
Kai featured six times for the U18s last season, making his debut at the age group when he was 15 in a 1-0 win against Everton last August. However, he suffered a season-ending injury in March, which left him out of action for United’s FA Youth Cup final against Manchester City, which United lost 2-1.
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