Former England manager Fabio Capello believes that Wayne Rooney needed his move to America.
Rooney has lit up the MLS since joining DC United, helping a team that was bottom of the table into the playoffs.
And Capello feels that Rooney's career had been going on a downward trajectory in England before the move.
The Italian said at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco: "Rooney is a good player, but I saw the season when he returned to Everton and he didn't perform well.
"He was on the pitch like a different person. He was not with the team. It was not the Rooney I remember - fighting, running - nothing. He lost everything, all his characteristics.
"He decided to go to America. The football is different, it's a new experience and a lot of Italian players go there at the end of their careers."