Wayne Rooney Responds to Tom Brady’s Criticism of His Work Ethic
Former Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney has reacted to comments made by Tom Brady, a minority partner in the club, regarding his work ethic. Brady, an NFL legend, expressed his concerns about this aspect in a recent Amazon Prime documentary about the club. Rooney, who was appointed Birmingham manager in October 2023 and dismissed in January 2024 after a series of poor results, responded to the criticism.Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, became a minority owner of Birmingham in August 2023, following the acquisition of the club by Knighthead Capital Management LLC and American financier Tom Wagner. Rooney added: “Football isn’t the NFL; the NFL works for three months a year. Players also need rest, so I think it’s very unfair the way it has come out and portrayed it.” The former England and Manchester United striker took over from John Eustace, who was fired by Birmingham when the club was in contention for promotion to the Premier League. The team eventually went down to League One at the end of the season. Rooney concluded: “Listen, I have a lot of respect for Tom Brady. He is one of the greatest athletes, if not the greatest of all time, and Birmingham seems to be doing well now, which is good, and I think what they have done is to take out the players they needed to take out.”“I think Tom came once, which was the day before a match where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don’t think he really understood football that well,” Rooney said on his podcast “The Wayne Rooney Show”. “But what he does understand is that he’s a hard worker, we know that.”
Wayne Rooney
