Rooney says he and Roy Keane would be sacked in Manchester United's modern era

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United's dressing-room culture has shifted so dramatically that he and Roy Keane would have been sacked for their candor if they were still at Old Trafford. The 39-year-old former England captain spent 13 years with United, winning 16 major trophies and captaining the side for three seasons before leaving in 2017. His comments came during a discussion with Rio Ferdinand on the former defender's podcast, when he was asked whether he and Keane could cope in the current squad.

Rooney said, "No, we'd get sacked." Ferdinand pressed for detail, and Rooney cited "some of the stuff which got said in the dressing room," explaining that such exchanges would be unacceptable in modern society, where comments can be labeled bullying or offensive. "That's where now, and it is society as well, you can't say this because you might upset this person," he said. "You're a bully, and you get accused of bullying and stuff." He stressed that while he does not advocate an old-school approach, he believes difficult conversations were a core part of building a successful team. "What happened to speaking the truth and saying, like, 'What are you doing?'" he asked, insisting that honest feedback could wake a player up and sharpen a group, and that accountability was a shared duty among senior figures.

Rooney discussed how leadership functioned in his United days and how it contrasts with today. He recalled that leadership in a large squad relied on blunt, direct exchanges backed by teammates and coaches. He said, "It wakes you up. It brings you alive. And it's a responsibility. I have a responsibility to keep you, to keep him, to keep him on their toes." He noted that senior players behind the scenes—like Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes—played a role in maintaining standards and conveying tough messages, framing leadership as a collective effort rather than a single voice.

The interview touched on Rooney's post-playing career in coaching. Since hanging up his boots in 2021, he has managed Derby County, Birmingham City, and Plymouth Argyle, experiences that, he said, have underscored the challenge of balancing candor with modern workplace norms. He conceded that he has sometimes struggled to adapt to contemporary dressing rooms. "I've walked out of dressing rooms as a manager because I'll explode," he said, describing moments when he has had to back off or pause a confrontation. He recalled hearing a teammate say, "If you want to speak to him, do it one-on-one. This is bullying," and said he once stood by, weighing how to respond. "Just get a shower" was his reaction in one tense moment, illustrating the friction between old-school intensity and today’s emphasis on safeguarding players from harm.

Rooney also opened up about personal battles, including his struggle with alcoholism during his playing days and the role his wife, Coleen, played in turning his life around. "I honestly believe if she weren't there I'd be dead," he said, crediting Coleen with helping him regain control. He described their partnership as a stabilizing force that allowed him to continue his football career and pursue coaching roles with greater openness about mental health and well-being. The couple, who grew up in Croxteth and married in 2008, have become central to Rooney's ongoing public narrative about balancing high performance with personal resilience.

Rooney's remarks arrive amid ongoing conversations in football about how dressing-room culture should function in a sport under intense scrutiny from fans, media, and governing bodies. While acknowledging the value of blunt feedback in driving performance, he underscored the need to navigate conversations in ways that respect players' well-being and contemporary norms. He did not single out Manchester United, but his critique reflects a broader debate about how clubs compensate for tradition with evolving expectations in the modern game.