Rooney doesn’t believe his 2011-12 Man United side deserve to be considered Premier League champions even if their Manchester rivals lose the crown
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Wayne Rooney has said he wouldn’t be comfortable accepting another Premier League winner’s medal if Manchester City are ultimately stripped of their titles.
With City allegedly being found guilty of most of the 115 charges against them for breaking the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules, there are questions over how their myriad trophies from 2009 to 2018 will be judged.
Sanctions are yet to be decided but stripping them of their titles could be one route the authorities go down.
If that was the case, Manchester United may well be awarded the 2011-12 Premier League crown – which they lost in one of the most dramatic ends to season of all time, when Sergio Aguero scored a decisive goal against QPR deep into injury time.
Sergio Aguero scored the decisive goal in one of the most dramatic ends to a season of all timeopen image in gallery
Sergio Aguero scored the decisive goal in one of the most dramatic ends to a season of all time (PA Wire)
Some of the United players in that team, including defender Rio Ferdinand and goalkeeper David de Gea have publicly called for that trophy to be added to their collection but Rooney – who won five Premier League crowns with the Red Devils – doesn’t believe his team earned it, and wouldn’t feel right claiming another medal.
“I have heard Rio has come out saying about getting another Premier League medal... I wouldn’t really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I’m being honest,” said Rooney on the Stick To United podcast.
“I don’t think we deserve it, we didn’t do enough that season to win the league. I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.
“I’ve seen everything that has come out over the past few days and listening to people and I was putting myself in a Man City player’s shoes.
“They’re players, they’re doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title and in their mind they have done it, if those players have no understanding of what is going on above them, if that happened to me... I would be absolutely devastated.
“It might happen, they might take them [medals] away, but I wouldn’t want it [a medal] because I don’t think as a team we deserved it that year because obviously we didn’t finish first. So when I see team-mates saying I want a medal’, I’m happy with the five I’ve won. I wouldn’t want this one.
“Should they get it stripped for what the owners have done? Yeah maybe, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting it.”
Wayne Rooney says he wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting another Premier League winner’s medalopen image in gallery
Wayne Rooney says he wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting another Premier League winner’s medal (PA Wire)
When news of City’s alleged guilty verdict came out, De Gea and Ferdinand both took to social media to suggest they should have another Premier League winner’s medal coming their way.
Spanish goalkeeper De Gea wrote: “So... Let’s talk. How many Premier League titles have I won then?”, while Ferdinand posted: “Another premier league medal to be added to the cabinet.”