The 33-year-old is returning to England to join second-tier Derby County in a player-coach role.

His departure proving far less exciting than his celebrated arrival just last year - when the one-time wunderkind and Manchester United all-time leading scorer was hyped as the second coming of David Beckham.

Rooney finished Saturday's contest on the bench after being substituted during the 30 minute extra-time period.

"I think he gave a lot to the organisation, he was a great teammate," United coach Ben Olsen said.

"I think he was good to our fans and he was very appreciative of the support he got with our fan base and the community, the DC area."

Rooney brought a bit more attention and a put few more fans in the seats as DC United moved from RFK Stadium to their new state-of-the-art home Audi Field, but never came close to elevating the MLS profile the way Beckham had on his arrival in Los Angeles in 2007.

Toronto advanced to face top-seeded New York City FC on Wednesday night in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Marco Delgado's 32nd minute goal appeared to be enough for Toronto to advance from the first-round post-season encounter only for Lucas Rodriguez to snatch an equaliser deep into stoppage time.

However, Toronto scored in the 93rd, 95th, 103rd and 105th minutes with Jonathan Osorio on target twice.

Meanwhile, Franco Escobar scored in the 69th minute as defending champions Atlanta United accounted for New England Revolution 1-0.

Atlanta will face the winner of Sunday's game between Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls.

In the Western Conference, Jordan Morris scored in the 113th minute to complete a hat-trick in Seattle Sounders' 4-3 victory over FC Dallas.

Australian Associated Press