They play in the fifth tier of English football
Adam Rooney has joined Salford City from Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee. The 30-year-old Irish striker has signed a three-year deal with the club part-owned by members of Manchester United’s “Class of 92”. Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Gary Neville each own 10% of the club that plays in the fifth tier of English football.
Another promotion will see them play in League Two, and Salford will be hoping that Rooney is the one to score the goals to secure them their fourth promotion in five years.
The Dublin-born striker scored 87 goals in 194 appearances for Aberdeen during his four and a half years with the Scottish side, helping them win the Scottish League Cup in 2014 and to finish second in the table for four consecutive seasons.
Striker @17AdamRooney has joined Salford City on a three-year-deal from SPL side Aberdeen!
👉 https://t.co/aQnzjhgtdL#WeAreSalford 🦁🔴 pic.twitter.com/R2XMsjf45t
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) July 19, 2018
Before Aberdeen, Rooney played for Oldham Athletic, Swindon Town, Birmingham City and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He began his career with Stoke City and was the youngest player to ever score a hat-trick for the club. Rooney has been called up Republic of Ireland squads under Martin O’Neill but never made an appearance.
Gary Neville welcomed the striker to Salford with a tweet on Thursday morning.
https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1019875586146217984
And Rooney spoke about the club’s ambition as a key factor in his decision to join.
🗣 "It's something I really wanted to be a part of"
New signing Adam Rooney’s first interview will be available to watch on YouTube from 12:30pm today! pic.twitter.com/wYoeiEYxc9
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) July 19, 2018
Welcome to Salford City, Adam Rooney! ✍️#WeAreSalford 🦁🔴 pic.twitter.com/4lkfwly22i
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) July 19, 2018
He also wished his former club well with a message on Twitter.
Thanks @AberdeenFC for everything! Good luck everyone! 👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/UfASPTWu8T
— Adam Rooney (@17AdamRooney) July 19, 2018
According to the Evening Express, Salford were able to offer Rooney a better financial package than Aberdeen. It appears the club are very ambitious as they seek to rise up the English football pyramid. They redeveloped their stadium last year, increasing the capacity from 1,600 to just over 5,000. The new ground was officially opened by Alex Ferguson last October.
Salford are managed by Graham Alexander, a former Scotland international.
🖊️ Conference newcomers Salford City's new signings so far.
✅ Danny Lloyd – Peterborough
✅ Nathan Pond – Fleetwood
✅ Chris Neal – Fleetwood
✅ Rory Gaffney – Bristol Rovers
✅ Danny Whitehead – Macclesfield
✅ Adam Rooney – Aberdeen💪 Statement of intent. #WeAreSalford pic.twitter.com/CkzMLjJQ17
— Super 6 (@Super6) July 19, 2018
