Man United legend Wayne Rooney reveals the name he went by during his time in the US

As far as football icons go in England, there aren't many bigger than former Three Lions skipper Rooney. 

Since his emergence over 20 years ago now, Rooney has frequently been in the headlines on both the front and back pages, as well as holding goal-scoring records at both Manchester United and England. 

In fact, for some generations of football fans, Rooney will perhaps be the face that first comes to mind when they think about the game, having been the face of the video game FIFA on a number of occasions at the peak of his powers. 

As such, the idea that people might not immediately be shouting his name from the moment he walks into the room is a strange one. 

Yet the Man United and England legend has revealed that his profile in America was so low that he actually had to go by a completely different name at times in public. 

Following his disappointing exit from Birmingham City, Rooney has dabbled in gaming, playing FC 24 with the likes of social media stars Angry Ginge, Chunkz, Filly, and Mark Goldbridge, as well as rapper Aitch and darts sensation Luke Littler.

And when streaming with his new team-mates, Rooney revealed how not only did people not know his name, but they couldn't even understand him speaking when he first moved across the pond to play for DC United. 

On the live stream, Rooney said: 'When I was in the US, everyone thought I was Irish... When I was at Starbucks, I don't think they got my name right once... I got called "Won", I got called "Win"...

'So in the end, I just start saying (my name was) Ian.'

Rooney arrived at the MLS outfit as a statement signing, having left boyhood club Everton after just one year on a free transfer. 

You'd be forgiven for thinking that he went on to have something of an anonymous spell in the US capital as a result, but he was in fact their best player for the duration of his 18 months in the side. 

In 52 games for the club, he scored 25 goals and provided 14 more assists - including perhaps one of the greatest of all time. 

Back in August 2018 with the 10-men of DC United tied at 2-2 with Orlando City, Rooney raced back two-thirds of the pitch to make a lung-busting tackle after an attacking corner was cleared.

He then sprang back to his feet and carried the ball back into the opponent's half before putting in a pin-point ball to the back post, for Luciano Acosta to head home at the back post. All in the 96th minute of the game. 

Throughout his time in DC, he was considered a success, earning nominations for the MLS MVP and being voted into the MLS Best XI and earning the captaincy at the club. 

In that sense, you could very much say that Rooney lived up to the hype. He not only succeeded on a personal level, but also improved the team despite not winning any trophies.

The ex-England captain would stay at the club until late 2019, before joining Derby County, but he would return to DC as manager for another year in 2022.

As such, even his biggest critics would be hard-pressed to describe his venture across the Atlantic as anything other than a success as a player - though the same cannot quite be said for his managerial stint.  

Under Rooney DC United had impressed, however they missed out on the play-offs in both seasons with their former star at the helm after he won just 14 games, losing 26 and drawing 13.

He later left the club on October 8 after 53 games, joining Birmingham City just three days later on October 11 2023, though it is still a shock that he remained unknown, even if football's popularity is incomparable to traditional American sports.

A stint in MLS is a regular occurrence for most of European football's leading stars these days, preferring to move over to America for the dwindling twilight of their careers. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, Thierry Henry, and Kaka - it is a well-trodden path and had gradually begun to improve the profile of the division before Lionel Messi threw a truck-load of gas on the fire. 

Since the Argentine arrived at David Beckham's Inter Miami, the profile of both division and club have sky-rocketed. 

Ticket sales for Inter Miami and even away games featuring Messi have skyrocketed, with some prices jumping by 1700 per cent . This translates to millions of dollars in potential revenue for the league.

More games are selling out, there are more eyes on matches from across the world, Apple TV subscriptions are flying off the shelves and more players are joining from Europe's elite. 

Granted many of those are Messi's former team-mates - Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez have all joined him in Miami - but it has had a marked improvement on the division. 

In this way, perhaps Rooney's relative anonymity came as a result of him maybe joining the league slightly too early, and had he arrived more recently, he might have stood a better chance of getting the right name on his coffee order.