Wayne Rooney, Manchester United’s legendary captain and all-time top scorer, has cast a damning verdict on the club’s trajectory under Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim.
The former striker voiced his frustration following United’s latest humiliation, a 3-0 loss to arch-rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Rooney argued that performances like this reflect a team in decline rather than one on the rise.
“I want to be as supportive and positive as I can be of the manager and the players,” Rooney remarked on The Wayne Rooney Show, now streaming on BBC Sounds. “But it is tough to sit here and say we are seeing progression, and at least we’re seeing things that will get results soon. We’re seeing none of that, and it is very difficult.”
Rooney further pointed to the sight of Red Devils’ fans exiting the away end well before full time as symbolic of the current crisis. “There was an image towards the end of the game where I saw the Manchester United fans leaving. You could hear the fans singing Amorim’s name, but I think that is so powerful that the United fans were leaving the game. You know the game is over and I think they were very disappointed in what they were seeing. It is hard to see how it continues.”
Amorim took charge on November 1 last year following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag. Since then, the club has invested around £250 million on new players, offloading its so-called “bomb squad” to allow the coach to implement his 3-4-3 system. However, the strategy that once thrived at Sporting Lisbon has not yielded the same success in England.
Manchester United ended last season 15th with just 42 points—their lowest league finish since 1989–90 and worst top-flight points tally since relegation in 1973–74.
Rooney, who scored 253 goals for the club between 2004 and 2017, did not mince words: “I think after the last year when Ten Hag got sacked and Ruben came in, we’re hearing how they’re going to play and it is going to change. I think if the manager is honest with himself, it has got worse.”
With pressure mounting, Amorim remains adamant he will not abandon his tactical approach, even as results and fan patience wane.
okay.ng reports that many analysts believe United’s woes stem from more than coaching, pointing to years of mismanagement and inconsistency. Still, for Rooney, the responsibility lies squarely with the man in the dugout.
