Wayne Rooney found himself in a difficult situation when watching son Kai player for Manchester United teams

Wayne Rooney has revealed he is happy to pose for photographs with fans while watching his children play football – even after his eldest son, Kai, asked him to stop attending matches due to the distraction. Manchester United's all-time leading goalscorer says he has to prepare himself mentally before heading to his children's games, knowing requests for selfies can keep him from following the action.

For the 40-year-old, it is a difficult balance between supporting his sons and making time for supporters. In 2024, while appearing on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Coleen revealed that Kai had requested that his father stay away from his matches due to the buzz Wayne's appearances at them can create.

Coleen said: "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. How do you say to all of these kids, 'Go away, I'm watching my son?'

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"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."

Wayne ignored the request when Kai made his Old Trafford debut in the FA Youth Cup at the beginning of the year and has now opened up on how he feels about the situation. He recently told the Guardian: "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.

"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 decline to pose for pictures, he responded: "No, I do pictures because I remember when I was a kid being a fan and going for autographs."

Kai, 16, is making progress at United, securing a scholarship after coming through the academy. He recently made his Premier League 2 debut for the under-21s and followed it with a goal for the under-18s.

He has also featured for the under-19s in this season's UEFA Youth League. One of his teammates is Jacey Carrick, the son of first-team boss Michael.

Off the pitch, the family have recently found themselves in the public eye as part of the docuseries The Real Rooneys. The former United star opened up about Kai's ambitions of forging a career at his old club before he secured his scholarship.

Wayne said: "Kai wants his own legacy, and I'll be there to support him. 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."