While Kai's family take pride in his development, his mother Coleen previously revealed that their eldest son had banned Wayne from watching his matches due to the attention he generated. The United icon has subsequently disclosed that he must mentally prepare himself before attending his children's fixtures.

"When the kids go to football tournaments and there are going to be lots of parents there, I know I'm going to be ambushed," Rooney told The Guardian.

"So I have to be ready mentally to take pictures with people, and do it with a smile on my face when all you want to do really is watch your kid play."

When it was pointed out that others might turn down requests for photographs, he responded: "No, I do pictures because I remember when I was a kid being a fan and going for autographs."

But Wayne ignored the request when the teenager made his Old Trafford debut in the FA Youth Cup at the beginning of the year.

"Kai told Wayne to stop coming to football games, when he played grassroots [football] tournaments and stuff because he used to get swarmed and he couldn't even watch the game," Coleen explained in 2024. "How do you say to all of these kids, 'Go away, I'm watching my son?'

"Adults, it's different, you could speak to them. So he [Kai] just said, 'Oh, Dad, there's no point you coming because you don't even watch me play anyway,' which is sad but it can't be helped. At the same time the fans help you along the way and get you where you are."

"Kai wants his own legacy, and I'll be there to support him," Wayne shared. "What I don't want is him to get a scholarship or get a contract because of me.

"I want it to be because of him in his own right. It's something he's wanted for a long time, so [I'll] be proud, really proud of him to get a scholarship."

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page