‘What am I doing?’ – Wayne Rooney recalls unusual transfer tactic he used in EFL

Wayne Rooney went from PowerPoint slides to slippy slides in his quest to sign a player.

The 39-year-old has opened up on the unusual transfer tactic he once used when trying to secure a footballer’s services during his time managing Derby.

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A true legend of the game, just the Manchester United hero’s name would be enough in trying to persuade players to join his project.

While some managers whisk would-be-signings abroad or invite them to their luxury houses or show them their teams facilities, others go for a more simple approach.

Whether that would be simply speaking over the phone or meeting up for dinner, every manager has their own method.

And for Rooney, he has revealed he once scheduled a meeting to take place at a water park during his holiday in the United Arab Emirates.

What did Wayne Rooney say about his water park tactic?

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the 2008 Champions League winner was asked what tactics he used to try and convince players to join.

And one story immediately popped into Rooney’s mind from his time spent overseeing the Rams.

He said: “I met a player at the Atlantic water park in Dubai [Aquaventure World].”

Interjecting, laughing co-host Kelly Somers pressed Rooney at whether he met the footballer in question at the top of the log flume.

To which the England icon replied: “No I had a meeting with him to try and get him to sign for Derby.”

Questioned how and why they decided to meet at that particular place, Rooney explained: “He was in Dubai, so I said, ‘I’ll meet you there.’

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“So we’ve met there and I actually had a skintight wet top on where I’d been on the slides.

“Because if I don’t have a top on, I’ll just burn.

“So it’s like one of them swim tops with like a man on a surfboard or something on the front of it.

“It was sticking to me and I was just like, ‘What am I doing?'”

Rooney then quipped: “It was sticking to my belly as well and I’m trying to pull it out.”

But the all-important question, did Rooney’s unorthodox meeting venue manage to seal the deal?

It did not.

Rooney then went on to explain that he often met players in Dubai during the off-season.

He remarked: “I met a few players actually in Dubai because a lot of players go to Dubai, so it’s actually easy to meet players out there.”

Somers remained perplexed as to why off all places in Dubai, why Rooney thought a water park would be an ideal destination.

To which he said: “I don’t know actually, I phoned him up and he was actually at the water park the day I was going, so I just said, ‘I’ll meet you there.'”

Who did Wayne Rooney manage after Derby?

Following his resignation at Derby after he failed to steer them to safety in the 2021/22 Championship season, Rooney took charge of MLS outfit DC United.

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He returned to Blighty in October 2023 to manage Birmingham, but was relieved of his duties before the season was out.

A clip recently went viral of Blues minority owner Tom Brady questioning Rooney’s work ethic, which has led to him hitting out at the NFL great.

Rooney was back in a job ahead of the 2024/25 campaign having been appointed at Plymouth, but he left in December 2024 having won just five of his 25 matches.