Wayne Rooney is one of the greatest English footballers of all time, and of course, he’s also one of the best players in Premier League history. He was an aggressive, tenacious, energetic, and versatile player, capable of playing both in attack and midfield when required. His time at Manchester United is worthy of acclaim, as he would become one of the club’s greatest ever players, both for his prominence and for his goalscoring prowess. He is the all-time leading scorer for the Red Devils, with 253 goals.
After his final retirement in 2021 from Derby County, Wayne Rooney didn’t give up on football. He focused on becoming a manager and has managed several teams, but unfortunately, things haven’t gone as well as many of us had hoped. He started out as manager of Derby County but only stayed there for two years and resigned after being relegated. Rooney then moved to D.C. United, where he stayed for only one year after failing to qualify for the playoffs. After his time in the United States, he returned to England to manage Birmingham City, where he only stayed for 15 matches, winning only two before leaving. His last job as a manager was with Plymouth United, where he stayed for only 25 matches, winning only five.
During his time as manager of Birmingham City, the club was visited by the legendary Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time. And during his visit, he spoke with Wayne Rooney, who invited him to a meeting with the players where he explained the tactics they would employ. After this meeting, Brady is seen saying he is concerned about Rooney’s work ethic.
Modern football is Wayne Rooney having to justify himself to Tom Brady. https://t.co/DCidlFWS0f
— Buvey (@lawrence_bury) August 1, 2025
The comments were shown in Amazon Prime’s five-part docuseries Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues. The NFL legend stated “I’m a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic. I mean, I don’t know, I don’t have great instincts on that,” in reference to Rooney in a conversation with his business manager, Ben Rawitz.
After seeing this, many have commented that Brady should stay out of Rooney’s business and not give his opinion on the matter.
Brady should stick to throwing balls
— Dark Black (@xiaoheihei257) August 2, 2025
But we can’t forget that Brady is one of the owners of Birmingham City. While the former quarterback doesn’t know much about football, he does have the right to know what’s going on with his team and the right to give his opinion on the current manager.
Tom Brady: "I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic".
— Dylan McLaren🔰 (@dylanjmclaren) August 1, 2025
Rooney's work ethic: https://t.co/oBz34onNM8 pic.twitter.com/Tq8TygdwNS
There are also some people who feel that the sport Brady played doesn’t give him a ground to criticize Rooney.
I'm know fan of Wayne Rooney but to be fair Tom Brady played a sport where they play for like 30 seconds at a time then take a wee rest. Sit down, mate. pic.twitter.com/aQ1AGZ209V
— Andy Dowling 🇺🇦 (@AndyDee) July 31, 2025
Other people have also pointed out how this doesn’t reflect well on Brady since Rooney has become legendary for his mentality.
Wayne Rooney the footballer is one of my favourite players ever, and theres an argument for him being England's greatest.
— (C) Blues @ Knighthead Park (@ME_MURPHY13) August 3, 2025
This Brady/Rooney talk is crazy to me, because the conversation you've all seen is literally a mentality monster talking to a bloke with a hangover.
Then there are others who simply took the Rooney and Brady situation with a bit more humor.
Rooney after his first one-to-one with Brady https://t.co/x1DaLZaxt2 pic.twitter.com/pmB7n6S8Fm
— Jack (@JackJ4D) August 1, 2025
But at the end of the day, many didn’t like that Brady said he was worried about his coach, but it’s normal for him to feel that way after the past few games.



