February 21st 2024.
During his time at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney had the opportunity to play under manager Jose Mourinho for one season before making the decision to re-join his boyhood club, Everton. However, Rooney recently revealed that this was his toughest year at United, as he opened up about his relationship with Mourinho.
Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford in 2016, taking over from Louis van Gaal as manager. In his first season, he led the team to victory in the League Cup and Europa League. However, this also marked Rooney's final season at the club, where he left as the all-time top scorer with an impressive 253 goals, to return to his roots at Everton.
Despite being the club captain, Rooney struggled to maintain his place in the first-team as the season progressed. He started the season alongside new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack, but eventually lost his spot to other players. In an interview, Rooney shared that he was disappointed with his diminished role in the team, and found it challenging to put on a brave face while still holding the captain's armband.
Despite these difficulties, Rooney still had respect for Mourinho and described him as a good person. He acknowledged that playing under the manager was his toughest year at United, as he knew that he would not get much playing time with Ibrahimovic being the preferred striker.
Rooney's struggles became evident during a match against Norwich City, where he admits his performance was subpar. He was then left out of the team, and despite being the captain, he found it difficult to continue training every day with a positive attitude. This was further highlighted during the Europa League final in 2017, where he only came on for the last 30 seconds of the match. He was also on the bench for the League Cup final against Southampton, where he was ready to come on, but Ibrahimovic's goal meant he had to sit back down.
Despite these challenges, Rooney was appreciative that Mourinho kept his promise of allowing him to leave at the end of the season. In fact, Rooney had initially wanted to leave midway through the season when Everton approached him for a potential move. However, Mourinho convinced him to stay until the end of the season, promising him playing time in Europa League games. Although he knew he would be playing a supporting role to Ibrahimovic, Rooney stayed true to his word and kept on until the end of the season.
Looking back, Rooney acknowledged that it was a difficult and horrible time for him, as he wanted to contribute to the team as their captain. However, he had to accept that there was nothing he could do about his playing time. Despite this, Rooney remains grateful for his time at United and continues to support the team from afar.
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