Rooney criticises ‘lost and fearful’ Manchester United players for failing to take responsibility

Wayne Rooney believes his former team, Manchester United, appears “lost” and “intimidated” during matches, stating that “10 to 15 players need to depart the club.”

The once-mighty United currently languish in 14th place in the Premier League, trailing clubs like Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton, and Nottingham Forest in the English top tier.

This season, United has secured only nine victories out of 28 league matches and has been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions. Their chance of attaining any silverware hinges on Thursday’s Europa League last-16 second-leg encounter against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.

A much-anticipated improvement following Ruben Amorim’s appointment as manager in place of the dismissed Erik ten Hag has yet to materialise, with the Portuguese coach managing just five wins from 17 Premier League outings.

United legend Rooney, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, was frank on the Stick to Football podcast when asked about the potential for a revival with the current squad.

“No, I don’t see it happening,” he said. “They appear lost. They seem frightened and are hesitant to make mistakes.”

“I do think Bruno (Fernandes) is the one consistently performing, although he can be frustrating at times, but he’s the only one delivering. However, significant changes are needed within the squad. I believe 10 to 15 players must leave.”

“Obviously, it’s not feasible to remove that many, but there’s a mentality issue where things aren’t functioning properly. Players are passing the responsibility amongst each other, and no one is stepping up.”

The 39-year-old Rooney, who identified United captain Fernandes and young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as players worth keeping, remarked: “There seems to be a culture where it’s far too easy for them to lose matches, and then they simply come out with, ‘on to the next one’, which is just nonsense.”

“What they need to do is demonstrate it on the pitch—show some character and fight!”

“It’s painful to watch; it truly hurts. Although I’m from Liverpool, I spent so many years at Manchester United, and I genuinely want the club to succeed. My children are in the academy there, and witnessing this is quite distressing.”

In a BBC interview on Monday, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe stated that certain players at the club are “not good enough” and that “some are likely overpaid.”

When Amorim addressed Ratcliffe’s comments on Wednesday in anticipation of the match against Sociedad, he stated: “If we’re being honest, at this moment, everyone—me and all the players—are underperforming this season, and we can always rectify that.”