Wayne Rooney departs as DC United manager and will return to England

After DC United's bid to make the playoffs in Major League Soccer was cut short, Wayne Rooney has decided to depart from the team.

The ex-England striker was leading the Washington club since last summer, but he parted ways with them after their 2-0 win over New York City FC on Sunday.

Jason Levien, who serves as the CEO and co-chairman of the club, made an announcement on dcunited.com regarding Wayne's departure. Levien revealed that he and Wayne had a conversation and concluded that it's in their best interest to go their separate ways at this moment.

By making this decision, we are providing a platform for our future general manager to implement a fresh approach and organization for our sports operations. This will start with the vital task of finding a head coach that fits in with this new philosophy and structure.

We appreciate Wayne Rooney's contributions to our club and to soccer in our city, both as a DC United player and captain, and now as our coach. He is still a significant member of our team and a dear friend whom we highly regard and treasure.

In 2018, Rooney made his initial move to the MLS and served as a player for 15 months in Washington. Later, he returned after initiating his managerial career at Derby last summer. The 37-year-old had contributed to improving DC United's points score, but now he's planning to go back to England.

According to the Washington Post, Rooney was quoted as saying, "Now is the perfect moment." He believes that he has done everything he could to help the club reach the playoffs. It's not one specific reason that led him to make this decision; rather, it's more about timing in his career. Although he's had a wonderful time here, he thinks it's time to return to England. He's uncertain about what lies ahead for him now.