England national football team and Manchester United veteran Wayne Rooney has announced that his final campaign with The Three Lions will be the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The 30-year-old, who made his England debut in 2003, announced his decision during a press conference on Tuesday.
One of the key figures to don the England national football team jersey, Rooney has so far earned a total of 115 caps and scored 53 goals.
"Come Russia I feel that will be the time to say goodbye to international football," the forward said during the press conference attended by England football team manager Sam Allardyce.
"My mind is made up. Russia will be my last opportunity to do anything with England so I'm going to try to enjoy these two years and hopefully I can end my time with England on a high," he added.
Rooney, fondly referred to as 'White Pele', is the highest goal-scorer for England. On Sunday, he is set for yet another milestone. Rooney, who will remain the skipper under Allardyce, would go past David Beckham in the list of the highest capped England players in history.
Rooney will make an appearance for his team against Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier.
Over the years, Rooney's position has come under scanner with several managers deploying him both as a forward and a midfielder. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been deploying the star forward behind the striker.
"Obviously it's the manager's [Allardyce's] decision [which position he wants me to play in]," said Rooney. "We haven't really spoken about it. We will in the next couple of days. I'm ready to play whether it's midfield, number 10 or striker," he added.
