Birmingham City minority owner Tom Brady expressed worries about Wayne Rooney's work ethic while the Manchester United legend was manager of the Championship club
Wayne Rooney speaking into a microphone
Wayne Rooney has expressed his disappointment at Tom Brady's comments
Wayne Rooney believes Tom Brady was unfair to raise worries about his work ethic while managing Birmingham City.
The recently released 'Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues' documentary features a scene where Brady tells colleagues he was "a little worried" about Rooney's work ethic. However, the club's minority owner did then clarify: "I mean, I don't know, I don't have great instincts on that."
Those comments came after a visit to their training ground in November 2023, a month after they appointed the Manchester United legend. A fortnight after the documentary was released, Rooney has now addressed the comments.
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He did so during the first episode of The Wayne Rooney Show, a new twice-weekly podcast from the BBC. It was reported earlier this summer by The Sun that Rooney has signed a two-year, £800,000 contract with the corporation.
During the episode, host Kelly Somers asked Rooney if they should expect any issues with his work ethic due to the show's frequency. He laughed in response to the question before replying, "I saw that this week or last week from Tom Brady, and I think it was a very unfair comment."
Rooney added: "I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game, where 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 what he does understand is, he's a hard worker, we know that, so that's why I'm really disappointed with the comment. Football's not NFL – NFL works for three months a year.
"Players do need rest as well, so I think he was very unfair, the way he came out and portrayed that. I respect Tom Brady massively... a bit disappointed but nothing too serious, so move on."
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