Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has lifted the lid on his bizarre experience of playing golf with former United States President Donald Trump.
The encounter took place at the Trump National Golf Club while Rooney was with Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit D.C. United.
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During an interview with his former Red Devils teammate Gary Neville on The Overlap, Rooney revealed what prompted Trump, who was President at the time, to reach out.
“It was when he asked me to give his son (Barron) football lessons,” Rooney said.
“And (Barron) said ‘Do you want to see my dad?’
He took me up into the Oval Office and then from there, his PA (personal assistant) was just texting — ’do you want to play a few holes (of golf?)’”
Per The Athletic, Barron was a member of a D.C. United academy team and had previously been snapped kicking a ball around in the White House with an Arsenal jersey on.
Rooney took up the invite for a round alongside Trump, but he couldn’t have predicted a single thing about what was to unfold during his time on the fairways as he was joined by the former President’s lawyer at the time, Rudy Giuliani.
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“The maddest thing about it was we had Giuliani in the buggy (golf cart) behind us,” Rooney said.
“Then there were about 50-100 golf buggies that were all security.
“There was a boat in the lake with snipers, there were snipers in the bushes, and I was like ‘What’s going on here?!’”
Rooney made 48 appearances and scored 23 goals during his time as a player with D.C. United before he returned to the club as coach in July 2022.
However, he lasted just 53 games in charge before a mutual parting of ways in October 2023 as Rooney was poached by Birmingham City but lasted less than three months in his gig with the Blues.
Rooney hasn’t had to wait long for a new gig though having been appointed Plymouth Argyle’s new manager on May 25.