Wayne Rooney has not ruled out a shock move into the boxing ring in future, but for now insists he is fully focused on making a swift return to football management.
Long-running rumours regarding the England and Manchester United legend potentially donning the gloves in the Misfits crossover promotion founded by social media star KSI have circulated once again this week.
The Daily Mirror reported on Wednesday that Rooney was considering a big-money fight after holding talks with Misfits, which is promoted by Kalle and Nisse Sauerland.
The 38-year-old was quizzed on the topic by former United and England colleague Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher during an appearance on the latest episode of The Overlap’s Stick to Football, which comes out next week as he offered a teaser clip via his official social media channels.
"You never know,” a smiling Rooney said when asked by Neville if he was going to fight.
He added: "No, they've been in touch and asked the question, but I think at the minute I want to focus on getting back into management, not boxing."
Asked by Carragher if he had been approached over a serious fight or rather a charity bout, Rooney replied: "They’ve been in touch to fight, yeah. There's been a few. Obviously, Misfits have been in and that's been all over over the news.
Enjoyed filming with @GNev2, Roy, @Carra23 and @JillScottJS8 on the Stick to Football @WeAreTheOverlap podcast. Here’s a short clip from the show which is available in full next week. 🎙️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/jjfqfOSNqO
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) February 15, 2024
"I want to focus on getting back into management, that's my focus. I’ve seen all the headlines over the last couple of days but my main focus is on getting back into football.”
Rooney ended his illustrious playing career back in 2021 aged 35 to become the permanent manager of Derby, where he earned praise for his admirable leadership during extremely testing times for the Rams financially that led to their relegation to League One.
He resigned in the summer of 2022 and moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States to coach another former club in DC United, but left by mutual consent in October after failing to reach the play-offs.
Rooney was most recently the manager of Championship side Birmingham, appointed as a big-name replacement for John Eustace in October but spending just 83 days and 15 matches in charge during a woeful reign before being sacked and replaced by Tony Mowbray.
