Happy Birthday! Wayne Rooney's Boot History
One of our latest customs, bringing joy to writers and readers alike, has been to celebrate the birthdays of important players with an unique look at their respective careers, from a football boot standpoint.
Today's, or rather yesterday's birthday boy is Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, who of course is one of the most well-known players carrying Nike's Swoosh. However, things started a bit differently.
Debut with Umbro
Making his Everton debut in the summer of 2002, Rooney actually started out wearing Umbro boots. It was until almost a year later that he signed his first Nike contract. He laced up in Nike cleats, the Air Zoom Total 90, for the first time in June 2003 in an international friendly against Serbia.
Swoosh loyalty
Since then, Rooney hasn't abandoned the Swoosh and went on to wear subsequent generations of the Total 90 up until it was discontinued at the end of the 2012-13 season. In a June 2013 friendly against Brazil, Rooney and Neymar were tasked with giving the all-new Hypervenom a dream debut, and Rooney contributed with an early wonder goal.
Hypervenom switch
Rooney is still wearing Nike Hypervenom boots today, having switched to the low-cut Phinish model when the second generation of the line was launched in 2015. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for Rooney, but it looks like he'll finally receive his very first signature cleat soon.
Which of the boots Rooney has worn during his career is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
