As if Wayne Rooney’s imminent one-night-only return to the England squad wasn’t pointless enough to begin with, The FA have confirmed that the upcoming friendly against the USA at Wembley will not be a charitable affair after all.
For the uninitiated, two years after retiring from international football, Rooney has been invited to turn out for one last hurrah, an appearance that would increase his cap tally to a nice round 120 – all backed by a near-total absence of public demand.
Despite calling the match “The Wayne Rooney Foundation International”, The Times report that The FA will not be passing on a single penny of the gate receipts (takings of around £3million are expected) to the player’s eponymous organisation, nor do they plan to donate a fixed lump sum.
However, The FA have confirmed that fans will be able to make their own donations to the foundation on match day, though further details are not immediately available.
As for the match itself, the Guardian add that the general feeling within the actual England squad in the run-up is one of mild confusion, with Gareth Southgate torn over which shirt number to allocate to Rooney given that the 33-year-old isn’t likely to start against the States but would like to wear his old No.10 jersey for the big occasion.
All in all, a roaring success.