What happened to the Australian rising star who joined Man Utd after his grandad sent scouts a DVD of his skills?
Rhain Davis was just nine years old when he got the chance to join one of the biggest clubs in the world. “I have so many amazing memories from my time at Manchester United,” he told SPORTbible. “There are way too many to count.”
His story started back in early 2007, when Rhain’s grandad sent a DVD with some of his best moments playing for Redlands United, a local club in Brisbane, to several clubs across England. At that time, Rhain’s family was planning to move from Australia to the UK, but nobody expected Manchester United, the Premier League champions then, to contact them so quickly.
Rhain remembers it clearly. “Our games in Australia were recorded, so my dad put together a video of my best moments, which we sent to my grandad in England,” he said back in 2020. “My parents were already planning to move to the UK, so signing with United just made things happen faster. They were the first club to get in touch, and that was it.”
United were really impressed by what they saw and made an official statement soon after the deal was announced. A club spokesperson said, “We get sent a lot of videos from young players, but it’s rare that they are good enough for us.”
The Manchester Evening News even compared young Rhain to a young Wayne Rooney, with a headline that said: “Man Utd sign footie genius, 9. Roo kid on the block!” After the highlights were posted on YouTube, he started getting millions of views. Rhain moved from Brisbane to Manchester and did well in training. He signed his deal and “never looked back.”
Looking back, Rhain says, “It was all a bit of a blur. I wasn’t really worried about what was happening around me; I just wanted to play. I remember my dad asking if I wanted to go back to Australia to say goodbye properly, but I said no — I wanted to stay and play. I think most nine-year-olds would’ve done the same.”
It was a dream come true. He played alongside future stars like Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay and was around first-team players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney every day. He even had chats with Sir Alex Ferguson. “I was a bit nervous to meet him because of all the stories, but he was great and really cared about helping academy players make it to the first team.”
Sadly, Rhain’s career took a hit when he broke his leg two years before he was supposed to get a scholarship. He found it hard to get fully fit and was eventually released after six years with the club. “Stuff like this happens a lot in football,” he said. “But I’m lucky because I had two paths to follow.”
His parents were very supportive but made sure he got a good education, which Rhain focused on after leaving United. After his release, Neil Tolson, assistant manager of Altrincham at the time, gave him a chance to play for the club in the National League. Rhain played a few games but decided to pause his football career to focus on his studies after getting his A-Level results.
He moved to Sheffield to study economics and business at the University of Sheffield. During his final year, a former Manchester United coach, Rene Meulensteen, who was a family friend, invited Rhain to train with the Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s A-League.
Rhain took a year off and almost signed for the Mariners, but changes at the club stopped the deal. “I went back to the UK for Christmas, and the manager and I agreed I’d return to Australia after the holidays to sign. But Mike Phelan, the sporting director, left and went back to Manchester United, and the manager left too. Since nothing was official, I didn’t go back. These things are just part of football.”
After the disappointment, Rhain went back to Sheffield and graduated with first-class honors. In 2020, he said he was hoping to start a successful career in finance. “Football has been such a big part of my life and will always be,” he said. “The game is unpredictable, so you never know what might happen or who might call.”
Now, Rhain is balancing a career in finance while playing semi-professional football for Cheadle Town, a team in the North West Counties Football League. After playing for Altrincham and West Didsbury & Chorlton, where he helped the team get promoted, the 28-year-old is enjoying life.
“Things didn’t work out the way I hoped at United, but I wouldn’t change the experience for anything,” he told The Athletic in 2022.