Wayne Rooney: I knew it was time to leave Manchester United when I wasn’t a key figure in Jose Mourinho’s plans
Wayne Rooney speaks exclusively to talkSPORT - listen to the full interview at 1pm on Sunday
IT has been two years of frustration for Wayne Rooney as he battled for his place in the Manchester United team.
And he admits he saw the writing was on the wall under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
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Rooney tells talkSPORT: "I could see that I wasn't going to be a big figure with what Mourinho had wanted and so that is why I made the decision to move on."
But now he has returned to Everton and he admitted: "I'm back playing again, enjoying my football. The buzz you want to get out of football is to enjoy it and I probably didn’t do that as much as I would have liked in the last couple of years.
"I’ve got that feeling back where I am going out in games and enjoying them."
Rooney is back on Merseyside where he first felt that confidence when he stepped onto the training pitch as a teenager.
He said: "I'm a player that has always believed in myself, I’ve always had confidence.
"I remember as a 16-year-old when I got into the Everton team, I remember being on the training pitch and knowing I was the best player in the team at 16.
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"I have always had a belief in myself that I could do well and keep improving. That is still with me today.
"I still believe in my ability, and I think you almost need that.
"I said to a few of our players the other day about knowing when you are a better team or a better player and having that arrogance, not in a bad way, but having that cockiness and arrogance to show it on the pitch. I’ve always had that belief in me."
Rooney, 31, finished as United’s record goalscorer on 253 — but says Old Trafford is in good hands with the £75million signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton.
Wazza, speaking to talkSPORT, said: "For that United side, he is the perfect player.
"He is powerful, quick and strong and he scores goals, so certainly will improve that team."
And he has also tipped Mourinho to succeed where David Moyes and Louis van Gaal failed by taking United back to the top.
He said: "He (Van Gaal) got a lot of stick. I believe if he stayed it would have got better.
"He looked at all the small details not only off the pitch but on the pitch.
"I think the one thing he did was keep the standards with the players, he was demanding the best from you every day.
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"We used to film the training sessions, sit back and watch the training sessions back.
"It was tough for the players in that aspect but if he stayed we would have got better.
"Jose came in and last season in the league we struggled and weren’t consistent enough.
"Obviously in the cups United did well. I could see where Jose was going with the team and they will be a big success."
TalkSPORT's exclusive interview, with Mark Saggers asking the questions, airs at 1pm today in association with the Wayne Rooney Foundation.
Working with the Foundation, Wayne hopes to raise funds for groups dedicated to helping disadvantaged and vulnerable kids including the NSPCC, Claire House Children's Hospice and Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
