Easily the most notable and successful name to feature on this list, Wayne Rooney has certainly flourished since leaving Everton all the way back in 2004. In fact it would be his transfer that galvanised the club and they soon flourished after his departure. Rooney first broke into the Everton team back in 2002, becoming their youngest ever first team player and goal scorer, the latter being broken by another member of this list, James Vaughan. He is best remembered for his match-winning goal against Arsenal 5 days before his 17th birthday, a goal that ended their 30 game unbeaten run at the time. He would later join Manchester United for £25.6 million in 2004, the highest fee ever played for a player under 20 years of age. Since joining the Red Devils, he has gone on to massive success, even managing to score a hat trick against Fenerbaçhe on his Champions League debut. So far he has managed to collect a huge collection of trophies, which includes five Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League triumph, the FIFA Club World Cup and even the League Cup twice, although the FA Cup has eluded him thus far. In that period he has scored 217 goals, making him the clubs third highest goal scorer of all time with him fast catching up on Sir Bobby Charltons record of 249. He has also taken that to the international stage with 97 caps and 41 goals for England, despite poor performances in tournaments.
