Wayne Rooney has been reunited with former Manchester United misfit Ravel Morrison with the midfielder penning a contract with DC United.
The Red Devils’ icon made his return to the MLS outfit earlier this month having been confirmed as the club’s head coach following his exit from Derby County. Having already signed Miguel Berry, Rooney has followed that up with the addition of Morrison who joins on a free transfer.
His deal in the US is set to run through until the end of the 2023 season, with the club retaining an option to extend that for a further year. Lucy Rushton, D.C. United General Manager, said: “Ravel is a dynamic and exciting player who has experience performing at the elite levels in Europe and Mexico.
“He is a top-class midfielder with excellent technical ability and positional versatility. His game intelligence and all-round attacking ability allow him to fit perfectly in the system and style that Wayne wants to play. We look forward to integrating him with the roster and having him contribute on the field as soon as possible.”
The now 29-year-old played under his new boss at Pride Park last term, scoring five goals in all competitions as the club slipped into League One. His new venture is just the latest in a long line of chapters in what has turned into a journeyman career for the Man Utd academy graduate.
After progressing through the youth system at Old Trafford, he joined West Ham United on a free transfer before loan spells with Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City. The midfielder’s next destination was Serie A giants Lazio but having made just eight appearances for the Italians, he went on to have a further spell with QPR.
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His globetrotting was not done there though as he moved to Atlas of Mexico and then Ostersunds of Sweden. Further stints with Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and ADO Den Haag saw mixed results before Morrison then arrived in the East Midlands.
Rooney has regularly praised the playmaker for the promise he displayed at Man Utd, comments that left Morrison “upset”. Speaking with talkSPORT back in 2020, he said: “Obviously amazing comments.
"Especially for the player that he is, he’s probably one of the best to come out of England, so it’s high comments from a high player.
“It makes you a bit upset that I couldn’t have gone a bit further. I should have gone a bit further. I’m hoping still to go a bit further. But to the likes of Pogba and Jesse [Lingard]; I think both are great players. I think we had a great team, [born] around the 92s and 93s, that area of our year.
“I knew I had ability, but I didn’t realise and understand… obviously these are high players and I didn’t understand their thoughts at the time. I used to just go there and love playing football.”
