Birmingham City appointed Wayne Rooney in 2023 but he lasted a matter of months before being sacked - there was one exchange, though, with Tom Brady
Wayne Rooney and (inset) Tom Brady
Wayne Rooney and (inset) Tom Brady(Image: Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney has responded to Tom Brady's comment in Birmingham City's 'Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues' documentary series and described the remark made by Blues' minority owner as 'very unfair', after the NFL great questioned the then Blues boss' work ethic.
Brady and Rooney crossed paths during the latter's ill-fated Blues reign a couple of seasons ago, which resulted in the sack on New Year's Day after a run of two wins in 15 games and which played a significant role in the club being relegated to League One.
The behind the scenes documentary, produced by Amazon Prime and released recently, showed Rooney and Brady meeting at the club's training ground ahead of a game in 2023 and then moved to Brady, later, sharing his doubts to the camera over the application of Rooney, who was brought in to replace John Eustace earlier that season.
Now, on his new podcast The Wayne Rooney Show, the former England striker has addressed the exchange with Brady shown on the documentary and the American's own post-meeting judgement, which he admits he was disappointed by.
"I've seen that this week or last week from Tom Brady," Rooney said. "I think it was a very unfair comment. When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess, really. The players in there weren't the players who could take the club forward.
"I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game - and the day is a little bit lighter anyway. I don't think he really understood football that well at the time. Maybe he does now, but he does understand is hard work - we know that.
"That's why I'm really disappointed with the comment. Football is not NFL - NFL works for three months of the year, players do need rest as well so I think he was very unfair in the way he came out and portrayed that. I respect Tom Brady massively - he's one of the greatest athletes, if not the greatest, of all time.
"Birmingham do look like they're getting it right now, which is good. I think what they have done is they've got the players out they needed to get out. After me you had Tony Mowbray, Gary Rowett who also struggled as well, so...I'm a bit disappointed, but it's nothing too serious and we move on."
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