MANCHESTER UNITED legend Wayne Rooney made sure to stop by and support a fellow wonderkid during the Premier League Darts in Manchester.
The England and Everton bagsman was in the crowd to watch Luke Littler, 18, try and make history with a record fifth nightly win.
Wayne Rooney was in Manchester to watch Luke Littler play in the Premier League Darts[/caption]
Littler had the chance to make history with a fifth nightly win[/caption]
Rooney, 39, was spotted in the crowd at the AO Arena to take in the action at the oche.
It’s no surprise that the former Derby and Plymouth manager was enjoying the event, given he and his family are darts mad.
In fact, Littler has already signed autographs for Rooney’s kids after wife Colleen took the boys to the World Darts Championship final in January.
While it will have been a special moment for Littler too, who is a lifelong Man Utd fan.
The teen sensation paraded the Sid Waddell trophy on the Old Trafford pitch earlier this season and even played darts against some of the Red Devils squad at Carrington
Even Littler’s opponents knew that Rooney was likely there to catch a glimpse of darts’youngest ever world champion.
Nathan Aspinall said: “I believe Wayne is going to be here. One of the drivers told me he was coming down. I don’t think he is coming to watch me.
“That is the thing with darts at the moment, it’s attracting so many big names to come and watch us play. I think they appreciate the talent and the pressure that we are under night after night.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:
World Championship 2025 – £500,000
World Championship 2024 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
TOTAL: £1.43 million
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“Yeah, it would be great, hopefully I will get to meet him, have a picture with him. I’ll have to go and beat Luke Littler first and then see what happens.”
Littler, who has spoken about playing football as a youngster before, probably wanted to grow up to be Wayne Rooney when he was a kid.
But for Wazza’s nine-year-old son Kit, it’s Littler who is his idol.
Kit even had a darts-themed birthday party this year and is eyeing a career at the oche instead of on the pitch.
Speaking about knocking up steaks for Kit’s darts-player diet at 7am, Coleen Rooney said: “The third one has steak for breakfast, this is the darts one, he wants to become a darts player at the minute.
“Sometimes he’ll have a fried egg with it, but mostly it’s just a steak – he’ll just have that.”
Littler has been caught in a Man utd whirlwind since his astronomical rise to fame in 2023.
The Nuke has had messages of support from David Beckham and recently got the chance to join United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane on The Overlap podcast earlier this month.
While he even got the opportunity to meet Red Devils managerial icon Sir Alex Ferguson too.
Speaking about encountering Fergie for the first time, Littler said: “It was probably one of the best moments of my life and will live with me for ever.
“I was scheduled to parade the trophy before kick-off but Denis Law had passed away. There was an empty seat there where Denis would have sat on matchday.
“I sat behind Sir Alex Ferguson and was chatting to him for a bit, which was good. It’s one of the best things I have ever done.”
Littler was on The Overlap recently[/caption]
He paraded his Sid Waddell trophy on the Old Trafford pitch after his World Championship success in January[/caption]