Wayne Rooney was sacked by Birmingham City after just 83 days in charge in January 2024, after NFL legend Tom Brady questioned the Manchester United legend's work ethic
Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves in training
Owen Hargreaves has spoken highly of Wayne Rooney's work ethic following Tom Brady's comments
(Image: Laurence Griffiths, Getty Images)
Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves insists Wayne Rooney was among the most dedicated players he ever shared a pitch with.
The ex-England international's observations contradict criticism from NFL icon Tom Brady, who questioned Rooney's commitment levels. Rooney was sacked by Birmingham City, where Brady holds an ownership stake, in January 2024 after just 83 days in charge.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner cast doubt on Rooney's dedication to his managerial role in a Prime Video documentary about Birmingham and Brady's involvement. After visiting the club's training base in November 2023, Brady revealed he was "a little worried about our head coach's work ethic."
But Rooney has received support from Hargreaves, who was his team-mate at United between 2007 and 2011. Appearing on That Peter Crouch podcast, the former Bayern Munich player was questioned about who performed better in training out of Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney.
Hargreaves was clear, saying: "What a great question. I'm sure Cristiano would disagree but Wazza [Rooney] was insane. Peak Wazza. Prime Wazza was like a hybrid, he was crazy."
Owen Hargreaves speaks to Peter Crouch
Hargreaves says Rooney was a better trainer than Cristiano Ronaldo(Image: @thatpetercrouchpodcast/Youtube)
In response to Brady's comments in August, on his BBC podcast, Rooney called them "unfair." He said: "I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don't think he really understood football that well.
"Football is not NFL. NFL works for three months a year. Players do need rest as well, so I think he's very unfair, the way he's come out and portrayed that."
Knighthead Capital Management LLC took over Birmingham in June 2023, with Brady joining two months later. The new ownership soon replaced manager John Eustace with Rooney, who was given just 15 matches before being sacked.
Tom Brady talks to Wayne Rooney
Rooney wasn't happy with Brady's comments about him
Recalling his time at the Championship club, he said: "When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess really. Hence the fact that the players weren't really the players who could take the club forward."
Despite Brady's harsh assessment, Rooney chose to remain diplomatic rather than retaliate against the star. He said: "Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively.
"He's one of the greatest, if not the greatest athletes of all time, and Birmingham do look like they're getting it right now, which is good and I think what they have done is got the players out that they needed to get out."