‘Deluded’—Wayne Rooney Delivers X-Rated Rant on the State of Man Utd
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney did not hold back with his explicit assessment of the current squad, insisting anybody who believes the group are good enough to compete are “deluded” and “living in cuckoo land.”
Rooney made no attempts to hide his frustrations last week as he lashed out at Lisandro Martínez and Bruno Fernandes for speaking out against the club. The iconic former striker branded the pair “selfish babies” as he questioned the attitude in the United dressing room.
Many expected manager Michael Carrick to be the one punished for a miserable eight-match winless run, but United have opted to stick by the boss ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Chelsea—a decision that has largely gone down well with a fanbase that showed where its loyalties lay after the 3–0 defeat to Bournemouth.
With the players still under the spotlight, Rooney unleashed a furious rant against a squad he accused of simply not caring about the club.
“The players haven’t got a leg to stand on,” he told Stick to United. “What’s not fair is the performances they are giving. I looked at the fans, you could see the pain and anger in their faces when those players are walking around the football pitch. You see Martínez when Rayan ran round him, they are not getting to the ball, it’s so frustrating.
“I could score a goal, had ability or whatever, at least I f---ing ran and put myself about as a team. These players are not doing that.
“I would love to go in that dressing room and say, ‘What the f--- are you all doing? What type of performances do you think this is? Do you think you deserve to wear the shirt?’ Put a f---ing firework up their a---- because they are not doing anything.
“We are seeing players who are numb, look like they have got no emotion, look like they don’t care. Some of them might care, some good lads who are getting dragged down. It is so frustrating to watch.”
Rooney: Lack of Quality a Massive Concern at Man Utd
While Rooney spent most of his time attacking the character of the players in the United squad, he did not skip the chance to question whether the players are even good enough.
Attracting most of his fury was the area of the pitch Rooney knows better than any other: the forward line.
“It is at best a mid-table team, but if you look at all the mid-table teams, what do they get? They get players working hard, running, tackling and I keep saying it, going back to the basics,” he fumed. “These players think they are better than what they are.
“Unfortunately, what happened when Michael Carrick came in at the start is that it has given the players and the board false hope that they are good enough. He has done well, stuck together, managed somehow to finish third, then the board are thinking, ‘We are a top four team,’ when in reality they are miles away from it.
“You are deluded if they think the front three are good enough. They wanted Premier League players, they have brought lads from Wolves and Brentford, who have done well, but for signings to take this Manchester United team to the next level, you are living in cuckoo land if you think they are going to achieve that.
“The squad is absolutely a million miles away. The worst thing for Michael Carrick, he has given the board a bit of hope when in reality, they needed a big overhaul and have done for years.
“The midfield, spending that amount on those midfielders, is absolutely crazy. I feel for Michael, he has been let down, he hasn’t been good enough, but the players have let him down massively.”
