Rooney explained: "I actually had a trial for Liverpool. I was playing for Copplehouse under-nines at the time and after the game I was approached by a Liverpool scout who invited me to Melwood (Liverpool's training ground).
"I went along but after going there just once I got a phone call from Everton scout Bob Pendleton who asked me to go to Everton. It was the call I had desperately wanted and that was it for me. I gave Liverpool the swerve after that."