Wayne Rooney says being appointed as Plymouth Argyle's new manager is the “perfect next step” in his career.
England's second-leading scorer was sacked by Birmingham in January after just 83 days in charge.
Rooney has also managed at Derby County and DC United and is now in the fourth role of his managerial career at Sky Bet Championship side Plymouth.
The 38-year-old said: “I feel that taking on this role at Plymouth Argyle is the perfect next step in my career. I would like to thank the Chairman and Board of Directors for the faith they have shown in me.”
“This is an opportunity to be involved in an exciting project and I look forward to helping build a squad capable of playing a wide range of football and entertaining the Greens.
“I have experienced first-hand how talented the existing group of players is and the incredible atmosphere at Home Park. The club is on an exciting long-term journey with progressive plans and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.
Plymouth retained their Championship status on the final day of the 2023/24 season after beating Hull City 1-0 at Home Park to move into 21st place, one point above relegated Birmingham.
Argyle were looking for a new manager after Ian Foster was sacked at the end of last season.
Director of football Neil Dewsnip and coach Kevin Nancekivell took charge on an interim basis for the remainder of the season and steered Plymouth to safety. Dewsnip knows Rooney from his days as a coach at the Everton academy.
Plymouth said they “interviewed a number of experienced directors and managers”, but Rooney stood out as “the right candidate”.
Chairman Simon Hallett said: “Throughout the interview process, Wayne demonstrated himself as a passionate, intelligent and knowledgeable candidate with a desire to prove himself and advance his management career.
“When we started this process he contacted the board and was fascinated by the project we were working on and demonstrated real plans for how he would take the football club forward.”
“His ambitions and goals are perfectly aligned with ours and we believe he is the perfect candidate to deliver the exciting, attacking brand of football we all want to see and help achieve the club’s mission.”
“We are looking forward to another exciting season of Championship football and welcome him to Argyle.”
First-team coaches Nanskivel and Simon Ireland and goalkeeping coach Daryl Flahavan are set to join Rooney's backroom staff, with additional personnel expected to be added.
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