Wayne Rooney ended speculation surrounding his future yesterday evening by revealing that he had signed a new contract with Manchester United.
The length of the fresh deal, which is due to run until 2019, is likely to see the 28-year-old stay at Old Trafford for the remainder of his career.
Rooney joined the Red Devils back in 2004 as a teenager from Everton, and Sports Mole has looked back over each of his 10 campaigns with the champions.
2004-05
United parted with a reported £25m to land an 18-year-old Rooney in August 2004, but he arrived at the club with a broken foot that he had sustained while on England duty during that summer's European Championships. It meant that he could not make his debut until a Champions League group fixture against Fenerbahce in late September, but he made up for lost time by scoring a hat-trick during a 6-2 win.
The season would conclude without a trophy for Rooney and United, although he did end it as the club's leading scorer with 17 goals. That tally included one as Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run was halted, while another saw him volley in from distance against Newcastle United.
2005-06
Rooney began the campaign by scoring on the opening day against his boyhood club Everton, but a few weeks later he made the headlines for the wrong reasons when he was red-carded away at Villarreal. Referee Kim Milton Nielsen, who had dismissed David Beckham during the 1998 World Cup, took exception to the youngster's sarcastic applause and duly sent him off.
He improved his goals tally from the previous campaign by two - a contribution that included a brace as he won his first piece of silverware with United in the form of the League Cup courtesy of a 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
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2006-07
Sir Alex Ferguson had pinned his hopes on the future of United being built around Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, that partnership appeared to be in ruins after events at the 2006 World Cup, when Ronaldo was accused of helping to get his club teammate sent off during a quarter-final tie between England and Portugal. Ronaldo was eventually convinced to remain with United by Ferguson and any doubts about the state of his relationship with Rooney were dispersed as Fulham were thrashed 5-1 on the opening day of the season.
Rooney scored just eight goals before Christmas, but during the second half of the campaign he weighed in with some important strikes as United won the Premier League for the first time since 2003. On the Champions League front, United were knocked out at the semi-final stage, but Rooney had started to have impact on the competition, having scored twice against AC Milan and once against Roma.
2007-08
Following the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid a year earlier, Rooney was given the number 10 shirt. It did not bring the striker much luck initially, though, as he broke his metatarsal against Reading in August. He returned to score seven goals in as many games across October and November, as his link-up play with Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez started to show signs of a profitable understanding.
There were niggling injuries throughout the campaign, but Rooney still scored 18 times as United retained the title and also won the Champions League courtesy of a penalty shootout victory over fellow English club Chelsea in the final in Moscow. It was a season that largely belonged to Ronaldo, though, as the Portuguese attacker scored 42 goals.
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2008-09
No goals in his first six appearances was quickly followed by a goal in each of next five outings. Then, in November, he scored the only goal of the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, before a further three were fired in as United won the Club World Cup in the Far East.
Perhaps Rooney's standout performance of the season came during the 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. The hosts were trailing the North Londoners 2-0 at the break, but after the restart Rooney scored twice and was also involved in the three other goals. There would be no second Champions League medal, though, as Barcelona won the final at United's expense in Rome. It was a match that saw Ferguson use Rooney as a winger, with Ronaldo preferred up front.
2009-2010
With Ronaldo now in Spain, Ferguson looked to Rooney to be his talisman. The frontman responded by scoring 34 goals in all competitions, including all four in a 4-0 victory over Hull City and a hat-trick against Portsmouth. It wasn't enough for United to topple Chelsea in the title race, but he was voted as the PFA's Player of the Season. He also came off the bench to score the winner as United won the League Cup by getting the better of Aston Villa in the final.
Rooney would also impress in Europe, scoring four goals over two legs against AC Milan, but an ankle injury suffered against Bayern Munich, who defeated United in the quarter-finals, hampered him for the remainder of the term.
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2010-11
An ankle complaint limited Rooney to just one goal against West Ham United during the early part of the season, before Ferguson announced in an October press conference that the striker wanted to leave United, having questioned the ambition and direction that the club was heading in. Manchester City were seen as potential suitors, but soon after it was announced that Rooney had signed a new contract after discussions with his manager.
His return against Wigan from the bench was met by a mixture of cheers and jeers by the home faithful, but in 2011 he started to slowly win over more supporters. His acrobatics sealed the Manchester derby, while a hat-trick away at West Ham went a long way to United winning the title. Further goals against Chelsea and Schalke 04 in the Champions League helped his side reach the final, again against Barca, but for a second time United fell short against the Catalan giants, despite Rooney having equalised to make it 1-1 during the first half.
2011-12
Back to back hat-tricks in matches against Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers early on saw Rooney take his goals tally for United beyond the 150 mark. That was followed by a run of eight fixtures without a goal, but then braces were scored against Chelsea and Liverpool in February. Rooney's goal on the final day of the season away at Sunderland appeared to have sealed the title, but Sergio Aguero's late intervention saw the trophy lifted by Man City.
On a personal level Rooney matched his goals return of 34 from two seasons previous, but it ended without a trophy.
2012-13
After Ferguson spent big money to take Robin van Persie to Old Trafford, there was a sign of things to come for Rooney when he was dropped to the bench for the second game of the season against Fulham. He returned from a leg injury to score his 200th goal in club football against Stoke City in October. He then netted twice during December's Manchester derby, but it would be Van Persie who claimed the headlines with a stoppage-time winner.
As the season wore on, Rooney was often played out of position to accommodate Van Persie, and when Madrid arrived at Old Trafford for the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie between the two clubs, Rooney was named as a substitute. It was the start of the rumours that spilled over into David Moyes's appointment at the helm, particularly after Ferguson claimed in May that the centre-forward had asked to leave the club again. On the pitch, Rooney scored 12 Premier League goals as United wrestled the title from their city rivals.
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2013-14
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho spent the majority of the summer trying to entice United into selling Rooney, but the club held firm, despite the fact that he had just two years left to run on his contract. Rooney remained silent throughout and when he returned from ankle and head injuries, he produced numerous positive performances, which included two goals as Bayer Leverkusen were beaten in the Champions League. Fast-forward to the present day, and despite real concerns that United will miss out on Europe's top club competition and reported interest from a host of teams, Rooney has opted to stay with the club.
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Liam Apicella
