England icon Wayne Rooney has highlighted one detail that he has noticed from Kai Rooney’s time in the Manchester United youth academy and he fully backs it.
Kai Rooney has followed in his 40-year-old father’s legendary footsteps and started his football youth playing career at Premier League side Manchester United.
The immediate reactions to Kai Rooney’s long-awaited return from injury for Man Utd ✍️🔥
Let’s hear YOUR predictions… in what year do you think Kai Rooney will make his Man Utd first-team debut? 🔮👀
- Marcus Rashford: ⚽️
- Jack Fletcher: ❤️
- Shea Lacey: 👏👏
- Louie Bradbury: 👏🏼👏🏼
- Samuel Lusale: “Hes backk”
The 16-year-old Liverpool-born winger played twice in the Under-18 Premier League for the Manchester United Under-18s since he became part of the youth set-up.
Kai had missed a large part of the 2025-26 campaign with the United Under-18s after he suffered an injury back in August, which sidelined him after two matches.
But Wayne Rooney’s son returned to action before the end of 2025 and Kai scored for United in the Premier League Cup match against Birmingham City Under-18s.
Wayne Rooney opens up about Man Utd’s youth academy amid Kai Rooney’s role at Old Trafford
Wayne Rooney is considered one of the best Premier League strikers of all time and the Manchester United legend enjoyed a prolific playing spell at Old Trafford.
United’s all-time leading scorer lifted five Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, three League Cups and an FA Cup with the Red Devils.
Rooney talked about Kai Rooney’s existing deal with Puma, but the United icon revealed that his son cannot wear the sports brand at youth level with the Under-16s.
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The former Red Devils striker explained that United’s academy rule prohibits his son from wearing his Puma-endorsed boots, but Rooney isn’t against the move either.
“He’s [Kai] obviously with Puma, but when he’s with the U16s, he can’t wear his Puma boots, which I really like from Man United,” Rooney told The Smith Brothers: Not A Podcast.
“The academy all have to wear the same. Why they do it is they have players from areas who can’t afford certain boots, and I think it’s really good to do that.
“When he plays for the U18s, he can wear his Puma boots, and he’s doing really good, to be fair.”
Kai Rooney’s current deal with Puma amid the Man Utd talent’s emergence at Old Trafford
According to The Daily Mail in 2022, Kai followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming affiliated with German brand Puma in his fledgling playing career.
Kai had impressed at youth level with United in the 2021-22 season and Puma did not pass up the opportunity to snap up the emerging Red Devils talent in a deal.
The United youngster first signed for the Red Devils back in 2020, with Kai’s father saying he was a “proud dad” to see his son finally ink a deal at Old Trafford.
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