Wayne Rooney Labels Manchester United Squad Babies After Como Defeat
Manchester United great Wayne Rooney has labelled the current squad “babies” and “selfish” following a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como and subsequent public criticism of manager Michael Carrick by captain Bruno Fernandes. Carrick’s side sits 13th in the English Premier League ahead of a Sunday fixture against Bournemouth, facing the possibility of dropping into the bottom three.
Uefa Champions League Defeat Deepens Crisis at Old Trafford
The 4-1 loss on Wednesday left Carrick clinging to his job amid the club’s worst domestic league start in decades. Following the match, captain Bruno Fernandes criticized the manager’s tactics publicly, stating that the team needed to be more “brave”. This friction followed comments from defender Lisandro Martinez, who criticized the club’s board last week for not investing enough in the transfer market.
Rooney expressed shock and disbelief regarding the team’s performance against Como. Speaking on The United Stand podcast on Thursday, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer directed his criticism squarely at the players.
“When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart,” Rooney told the podcast. “That was the start. We’ve seen it now with Bruno and you’re going to see it with more players because these players, they don’t want to take responsibility.”
Rooney Points Finger at Player Responsibility
Rooney argued that players must assume accountability for results rather than deflecting blame onto management or the coaching staff. He suggested that individual grievances take precedence over team success within the current dressing room culture.
“You can say whether Bruno was right or wrong in what he said, but you have to take responsibility on the pitch. You have to take responsibility as a group of players,” Rooney stated. “These players, they’re selfish. They don’t care about their teammates, don’t care about the manager, the staff or the fans, they care about themselves. If they’re not getting what’s right for them, they’re like babies and just throw their toys out of the pram and go and deflect the blame on to anyone else but themselves.”
Bournemouth Fixture Looms as Premier League Pressure Mounts
Manchester United prepares to host Bournemouth on Sunday with the team positioned 13th in the league standings. Dependent on other results across the weekend, the club could drop into the bottom three.