Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney says the hardest moment in footballers’ careers is accepting when they are no longer the players they once were, drawing from his own experience at the top level.
Rooney, who joined Manchester United for £27 million from Everton in 2004, had a successful 13-year career at the club.
Rooney played 559 games, scored 253 goals, and won five Premier League championships, as well as the Champions League, Europa League, and FA Cup.
However, after falling down the pecking order, he elected to quit United and return to Everton in 2017, aged 31.
According to BBC Sport, Rooney stated on Friday that the most difficult thing for a player is to accept that they may not be at their peak performance. Rooney made this statement on The Wayne Rooney Show.
“I did it at Manchester United when Zlatan Ibrahimović came in and I wasn’t playing. I wanted to play, so I left straight away. I accepted it,” he said.
Rooney contrasted the scenario to that of Mohamed Salah, who will depart Liverpool FC at the end of the season after nine years at the club.
Salah has been instrumental in Liverpool’s success, winning many major titles, including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Club World Cup.
However, compared to his own lofty expectations, this season has experienced a significant drop.
The 33-year-old is projected to play fewer than 30 league matches for the first time since joining Liverpool, and he is on track to miss out on double figures in league goals, having scored seven and assisted six.
“I said this since the start of the season: age gets to us all and your legs go.
“I think that’s happened to Salah this season, and Virgil van Dijk hasn’t been the same this season,” he added.
He also mentioned the broader influence on the team when veteran players falter in form.
“They are the leaders in the dressing room. It’s hard for the other players to go and leave their mark or become the leaders,” he added.
While Rooney suggested some players stay too long at clubs, he stopped short of saying Van Dijk should move on.
“I don’t think he will [leave], but you’ve seen players when they’ve stayed there for too long,” he said.
Both Salah and Van Dijk reached their peak under former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who led the club to Champions League glory in 2019 and their first league title in 30 years in 2020 before stepping down in 2024.
Rooney admitted he admired Klopp’s personality and influence.
“Klopp was the only Liverpool manager I’ve looked at, and I would’ve loved to play for him, not for Liverpool, obviously,” he said.
He also contrasted Klopp to his current manager, Arne Slot, claiming the latter lacks the same charisma.
“I said about Arne Slot that he doesn’t have the aura that Klopp has,” Rooney added.
“What Klopp brought, even when he’s walking around a restaurant with a bottle of beer, that’s what the people of Liverpool like.”
