England icon Wayne Rooney has now recalled a key interaction with one former Manchester United manager during his legendary playing spell at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer enjoyed a prolific run at the Premier League club after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from boyhood club Everton.
Wayne Rooney’s famous overhead kick for Man Utd vs Man City at Old Trafford… 🥷🦵
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Wayne Rooney netted an incredible 253 times in 559 matches for the Red Devils en route to breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record for United at the club.
The 40-year-old United legend lifted five Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy, a Europa League, an FA Cup and three League Cups with the Red Devils.
Rooney played under several United managers during his time at Old Trafford, including Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
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Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney speaks at the end of the Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2025 in London, England.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Wayne Rooney opens up on a major moment involving him and Jose Mourinho at Man Utd
Wayne Rooney became Manchester United captain in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at the Premier League club after he received the armband under Louis van Gaal.
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The legendary former United striker lifted the FA Cup under Van Gaal before the ex-United manager was sacked in 2016 and replaced by Jose Mourinho in the dugout.
Mourinho’s arrival at Old Trafford came at a time when Rooney had fallen from the peak of his powers and his struggles for the England team also emerged.
The ‘Special One’ was reunited with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at United during his managerial spell and Rooney found himself playing second fiddle as the main striker.
Teenage Wayne Rooney’s insane volley for Man Utd against Newcastle! 🎯💥
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“Yeah, I had it with Mourinho,” Rooney said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“I started the season with Zlatan, and I knew Jose only plays one up front normally.
In the first three or four games, he played the two of us, and I knew as soon as I had a bad game that I weren’t going to play and Zlatan was going to be the forward.”
Rooney was unable to turn his form around amid the challenge from Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his first-team place and the United icon asked to leave the club.
“And I went in and had an honest conversation with Jose,” he continued.
“I asked him, ‘Could I go on loan in January?,’ because I wanted to play. And he said, ‘No.’ He said he needed me more for the Europa League, but I can leave in the summer.”
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Wayne Rooney’s reaction to Jose Mourinho has Man Utd legend sending a message to Liverpool ace Mo Salah
Rooney’s legendary United spell would come to an end under Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford and the ex-England star left the club in 2017 and returned to Everton.
The former Everton striker insisted that his response to Mourinho was a clear-cut difference compared to the recent reaction from Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
Wayne Rooney aged like a fine wine with this world-class moment… 💥🎯
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“And I stood up, shook his hand, didn’t complain about it again, sat on the bench, and [came] on and played a few games, whatever, [until] the end of the season,” Rooney explained.
“But that was an honest conversation and two men shaking hands and agreeing on something, which I think is probably the right thing to do rather than doing what Mo Salah’s done.”
Mohamed Salah has been making waves in the news after the Liverpool forward dropped a bombshell interview about his fractured relationship with Arne Slot.
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