Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has been banned from watching his 15-year-old son Kai play football.
Kai is the eldest child of Rooney and wife Coleen, who are also parents to three younger boys – Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six. However, Rooney’s celebrity status has seen his access to watch Kai play live restricted.
15-year-old Kai became part of the Manchester United’s academy in 2016, treading the same path as his iconic father who dedicated 13 years to Old Trafford and holds the club’s scoring record with 253 goals.
Kai has now informed his celebrated dad that his presence isn’t welcome at matches, owing to the enormous crowds he attracts.
Kai Rooney, Coleen Rooney and Wayne Rooney attend the Liverpool screening of “Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story” at Everyman Cinema Liverpool (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images for Disney+)
The revelation came during Coleen’s appearance on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here last year. Prior to securing second place behind McFly vocalist Danny Jones, she shared details of her son’s difficult choice with her fellow campmates, reports the Express.
“That’s the thing with kids I think, it’s hard to go on days out,” Coleen revealed to her jungle companions last December. “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.”
Despite his father’s absence, Kai has continued to shine in the academy and even found the net in United’s opening SuperCupNI fixture on Monday. The teenager converted from the penalty spot and mimicked the trademark celebration of Arsenal’s latest acquisition, Viktor Gyokeres.
