The Times has reported that Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has signed the biggest sports book deal in publishing history.
The 20-year-old has agreed a 12-year contract with HarperCollins to write a minimum of five books for an advance of £5m plus royalties.
Rooney’s first book will hit the shelves at the end of July 2006 and will be an autobiography of his life so far, including this summer’s World Cup.
Rooney said to The Times:
“It will be good for people to hear things from me for once. When they talk to me, people say, ‘I didn’t expect you to be how you are’. Hopefully I can put that across to people. They think I’m a different person to what I am. I’m just a normal young lad who plays football. I’ll be talking about my life in football and other things as well. There will be a few surprises in there.”
The follow-up books will cover the rest of Rooney’s playing career and there will also be a Wayne Rooney Annual published in the autumn of 2006, aimed at younger fans.
Rooney made his debut for Everton aged 16 in 2002, became the youngest England international a year later and joined Manchester United for £20m in 2004. His career at United, while not covered in silverware, has been an unmitigated success- with him playing in nearly every game and having developed an excellent understanding with players such as Van Nistelrooy, Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes.
Here to the eloquence of Wayne…..!!