Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney sent a message to his podcast colleagues that demonstrated his true chatracter
Kelly Somers revealed one hilarious text from podcast colleague Wayne Rooney while he was watching son Kai in action for Man United(Image: Instagram/@waynerooney)
Wayne Rooney has never struck anyone as someone who puts on airs and graces despite his celebrity status. And he demonstrated his down-to-earth character with a single WhatsApp message while watching his son Kai in action.
Kai Rooney has made a significant impact in Manchester United’s youth ranks this season as he bids to forge his own path into senior football. The 16-year-old even featured for the club’s under-18 side during their run to the runners-up spot in this season’s FA Youth Cup.
It was during his son’s first match at Old Trafford that Rooney reached out to podcast co-host Kelly Somers. Yet it was far from the typical message one might expect to receive from a member of football royalty, as he confessed to a rather amusing blunder on his part.
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When asked which WhatsApp group she belongs to that stands as her favourite, Somers was unequivocal as she told The Telegraph: “The Wayne Rooney podcast one..
“A lot of it is logistics but you also don’t know what is going to come next. Wayne was at Old Trafford once to watch his son play and he put in the group that he thought he had been wearing a tracksuit, but then realised he had worn pyjamas.”
It takes a mature person to wear pyjamas to a football match and not feel out of place. It takes an even more mature personality to admit as much to a workmate when not compelled to do so.
Rooney has formed a fond chemistry with podcast co-host Kelly Somers(Image: The Wayne Rooney Show)
Rooney addressed the episode himself on a January episode of his podcast and said: “So I was at home, and I went into my wardrobe and I picked a tracksuit out. I thought it was one of them oversized tracksuits what the younger lads are wearing nowadays.
“So I tried it on and I thought it was actually quite comfortable, so I kept it on and put a big coat over it and gone to the game. Obviously, if it was a first-team game, I’d be dressed a bit smarter but because it was a kids game [Under-18s], I put it on and went to the game.
“And then it was only when I got home, Coleen asked to look at the label on it, and it was actually a pair of pyjamas. So I went to watch my son’s first game at Old Trafford in a pair of pyjamas, mistakenly.”
Despite his reputation for intensity on the pitch, the Liverpudlian’s lighter side has emerged increasingly since his retirement in 2021.
The former United legend is now a regular pundit on the BBC, as well as featuring on his new podcast for the broadcaster. Nobody would have been more embarrassed than Kai himself upon discovering his father had turned up in pyjamas to watch one of his fixtures.
Kai Rooney could have a big future at Manchester United(Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
This comes after Wayne’s wife, Coleen, disclosed their son had previously asked him to stop attending matches in person.
During her appearance on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2024, Coleen said: “That’s the thing with kids I think, it’s hard to go on days out. Kai told Wayne to stop coming to football games when he played grassroots tournaments and stuff because he used to get swarmed and he couldn’t even watch the game.
“How do you say to all of these kids, ‘Go away, I’m watching my son?’ Adults, it’s different you could speak to them, so he [Kai] just said, ‘Oh, dad there’s no point you coming because you don’t even watch me play anyway.’
“Which is sad, but it can’t be helped anyway. At the same time, the fans help you along the way and get you where you are.”
Fortunately, the pair appear to have overcome that obstacle, with Rooney Sr turning up to watch several of Kai’s matches this season — even if his choice of attire wasn’t entirely suited to the occasion.
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