Wayne Rooney names the one club he regrets not playing for

Wayne Rooney has revealed that Celtic are the one team that he never played for but wishes he had.

The Manchester United legend is a well known Celtic fan and has attended Old Firm games in the past, and he’s now explained that not playing in one is a major career regret of his.

Rooney is widely acknowledged as one of the best Premier League players in history.

He won numerous titles with Man United and is one of just three players to score over 200 goals for them.

But despite being a boyhood Everton fan, he also a soft spot for the Glasgow giants.

And in a recent edition of The Wayne Rooney Show on the BBC, he revealed that he would have liked to play for Celtic in another life.

Rooney said: “It’s well known that I am a Celtic fan, and it’s probably one of my regrets not playing for Celtic at some point.”

Further discussing that, Rooney recalled the time Man United headed north of the border to face Rangers in the Champions League and the level of abuse he received.

“I am a big Celtic fan,” he said. “I went to Ibrox to watch the Old Firm and Celtic, so I sat in the Celtic end, and they [Rangers] were aware of that.

“So when we went in 2010 they battered me. It was not long after I asked to leave Manchester United, and then I’d signed a new deal, so I was under pressure to perform.

“We got a penalty, and I scored it so ran off celebrating, and it was a real hostile atmosphere.

“It was when I was using Twitter quite a bit as well, and I got hammered on Twitter, so I was expecting it.”

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Why Celtic?

In a previous interview, Rooney revealed it was legendary Celtic strikers Henrik Larsson and John Hartson who were among those responsible for the England icon falling in love with the green and white of Celtic.

He said: “Just growing up as a kid I’ve always liked Celtic. I’ve just always liked Celtic. My dad, my family, everything.

“When I was growing up, obviously there was Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton up top, John Hartson when he was there.

“Some of the players Celtic have had and moments they’ve given us is incredible. During the best part of my career I always thought I’d love to play for Celtic at the end of my career, and it obviously wasn’t to be.”

Of course, Rooney returned to Everton in 2017 after an incredible career at Old Trafford.

From there, he headed to the US to play for DC United before returning to represent Derby County.

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After retiring in 2021, Rooney continued his managerial career, having briefly served as a player-coach at Derby. Rooney’s last coaching position saw him get sacked as Plymouth boss in December 2024.

It’s unclear if at any point Celtic were interested in Rooney in this latter stage of his career, but it is clear he would have jumped at the chance to head to Parkhead.