Rooney’s concern is not about his son’s football. It is about who starts turning up around a teenager who has just signed for one of the world’s biggest clubs.

“We’ve got this with Kai having signed for Manchester United. We know who his friends are,” Rooney says in The Real Rooneys, the ten-part Disney+ series which the Manchester Evening News covered this week.

If a new group of people suddenly tries to attach itself to Kai, the family will spot it.

Kai Rooney, 16, signed a scholarship with United in July at the club’s annual scholars’ celebration evening at Old Trafford. He joined the academy as an 11-year-old in December 2020.

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‘I don’t want it because of me’

Rooney has been clear that the family name should not open doors inside Carrington.

“What I don’t want is him to get a scholarship or get a contract because of me,” he told the Therapy Crouch podcast hosted by Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy.

“Kai wants his own legacy, and I’ll be there to support him. I want it to be because of him in his own right.”

In the series, Rooney also describes his son’s game:

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“Kai plays for Manchester United in the academy and he is very driven. He scores goals and he wants it. It’s very similar to me, it’s like watching myself with a left foot.”

What Kai has done so far

Kai made his first appearance at Old Trafford in an FA Youth Cup tie against Derby County, and is now training with United’s Under-18s. He is a left-footed forward.

The Rooneys gave Disney+ a year of access to the family in Cheshire, with filming also in Barbados and the Alps. Eight episodes landed on 24 September, with two specials, a Disneyland Paris episode and a skiing extra, following on 1 October.

All ten are available on Disney+ now.

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