Wayne Rooney Leaves EPL For MLS Side DC United

Wayne Rooney is "set to leave the Premier League" after agreeing to terms on a two-and-a-half-year deal with MLS side DC United worth an estimated £10M ($13M), according to Luke Edwards of the London TELEGRAPH. The club "courted Rooney for months" and although he was "initially reluctant" to leave Everton, just 12 months after rejoining his boyhood team, his declining physical powers "persuaded him the time is right to move to America." Just as David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard did in the "twilight" of their careers, Rooney has been "lured across the Atlantic" to become the highly-paid face of an MLS franchise. Although there is no transfer fee involved, DC United is understood to have paid "some compensation" to Everton as Rooney still had 12 months remaining on his contract. Rooney leaves England as the second-highest Premier League goal scorer, with 208 goals, a figure only surpassed by former England captain Alan Shearer, who scored 260 (TELEGRAPH, 6/28).