Wayne Rooney has revealed that he recently discovered Polish-Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side, with the former Manchester United and England star discussing the finding in his new Disney+ documentary series, The Real Rooneys.
The revelation comes in the fourth episode of the 10-part series, which follows Rooney, his wife Coleen and their four children.
Wayne Rooney reveals Polish-Jewish roots in new documentary
(Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“I’ve recently found out that my mum’s mum, so my nan’s, family were Polish Jews,” Rooney says in the episode.
A producer then responds from off camera: “Technically, if that’s true, you’re actually Jewish,” referring to the Jewish tradition of matrilineal descent.
Rooney, who was raised Catholic, replies: “I’m Catholic.”
“But then I’ve always asked questions like why aren’t we Jewish?”
Asked whether he would be interested in learning more about his ancestry, and whether the discovery could even inspire another television series, Rooney jokes: “Roo the Jew?”
Family journey to Auschwitz
The discovery becomes part of a wider family journey in the documentary as Rooney and Coleen travel to Poland with their third and fourth sons, Kit and Cass, aged 10 and eight.
Kit developed an interest in World War II after studying the period at school, prompting the family to visit Krakow before traveling to Auschwitz.
Coleen says in the series that her husband also has a strong interest in history and has “a real bug for learning about different places in the world, culture, people, values”.
For Rooney, the trip also marks a return to Auschwitz. He previously visited the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp in 2012 with several England teammates while the national team was competing in the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
At the time, Rooney described the visit as especially difficult from the perspective of a parent.
“I’m a parent and it’s tough to see what happened there,” he said. “You’ve seen the amount of children who died. You see the children’s clothes and shoes, it’s really sad. You have to see it first hand.”
Life after football management
The Real Rooneys also follows Rooney during a period of uncertainty in his football career.
The series begins shortly after he was dismissed as Plymouth Argyle manager in December 2024, having won five of his 24 matches in charge.
That spell followed managerial stints at Birmingham City, DC United and Derby County, and Rooney says in the documentary that he may never return to management.
“There is a big possibility I’ll never manage again,” he says in the first episode. “It’s the first time really that I’m probably not going to be involved in football. I’m stepping away from the thing I’ve loved doing my whole life.”
The change has also altered the balance at home as Coleen takes on more professional commitments.
Asked whether the couple had always planned for Rooney to take on more domestic responsibilities while Coleen focused on her career, he replies: “We spoke about her doing more work, not about me getting sacked.”
A rare Jewish connection in Premier League history
If Rooney’s newly discovered ancestry is counted in discussions of Jewish footballers, it could add another notable name to what has historically been a relatively short list of Jewish players in the Premier League era.
Many of the best-known Jewish players in the league have been Israelis. Liverpool forward Ronny Rosenthal was among the foreign-born players who appeared during the Premier League’s inaugural 1992-93 season, while Eyal Berkovic, Yossi Benayoun, Tal Ben Haim and Manor Solomon have also played in England’s top flight.
Nick Blackman, who made his Premier League debut for Blackburn Rovers in 2009, had been described as the first English-born Jewish player in the competition.
Rooney, however, made his Premier League debut for Everton seven years earlier, in 2002, meaning his newly disclosed family background may complicate that distinction.