NFL Legend Launches Scathing Attack on Man United Cult-Hero Wayne Rooney’s Work Ethic

NFL legend Tom Brady has criticized Wayne Rooney's work ethic during his brief and unsuccessful stint as Birmingham City manager in a new Amazon Prime docuseries, "Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues."

The five-part series chronicles Brady's part-ownership of the club over the past two seasons. In the first episode, Brady observes a Rooney-led training session and team meeting. Afterwards, he expresses concerns to his business manager, Ben Rawitz, saying, "I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic." Rawitz responds, "Comes across as lackadaisical."

Rooney's tenure at Birmingham, from October 2023 to January 2024, proved disastrous. He won only two of his 15 Championship games, leading the club to plummet from sixth to 20th place, ultimately culminating in their relegation to League One.

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The documentary captures an awkward exchange between Brady and Rooney, where Rooney attempts to explain the difference between Premier League and Championship players, attributing it to focus rather than skill.

Brady retorts, "What's the difference between football (American) and soccer? Nothing. I treated practice like it was the Super Bowl. Put pressure on them, make them run for everything.”

The series also covers Birmingham City's remarkable turnaround last season, achieving a record-breaking 111 points in League One under new manager Chris Davies.

However, Brady admits replacing former manager John Eustace with Rooney shortly after taking ownership was a mistake. "I had good advice, ‘Don’t go in there and make sweeping changes,’" Brady reflects. "But we made sweeping changes that put us in decline. That was our doing.”

Brady doesn't spare the players either, criticizing their performance. "We were trying to make Birmingham a world-class team - but it’s been a st year," he states. "They were lazy and entitled, which doesn’t give you much chance to succeed.”

Following his dismissal from Birmingham, Rooney briefly managed Plymouth Argyle before focusing on punditry, including a role on Match of the Day.