Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has slammed the club’s “selfish” squad, including Bruno Fernandes, following his criticism of Michael Carrick.
Blame game
A brutal round of finger-pointing erupted at United in the wake of their 4-1 Champions League humbling by Como.
Carrick questioned his players’ work rate and application, while Fernandes criticised the tactical decisions of Carrick and his staff, revealing the players were instructed not to employ a man-to-man press.
In his press conference, Carrick disagreed with Fernandes and once again stressed that the players had not shown the required level of commitment.
The exchange of verbal blows is merely the latest chapter in the toxic culture at United, set against the backdrop of their woeful start to the season.
A report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that United executives were left shocked by the team’s performance at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium. There is some sympathy for Carrick as it’s felt that he is being let down by his players.
According to Rooney, Carrick should drop Fernandes from the team temporarily to allow him time to cool off.
Rooney lashes out
Rooney said, “I think it’s at a point now where he might need a little break. He might need the manager to tell him to go on a little holiday because he had a long season and then a long World Cup.”
“He might need to go away and recharge the batteries because he’s played a lot of games and he doesn’t look like he’s got that sharpness or that bite about him.”
“I remember Alex Ferguson did that with Cristiano Ronaldo. At random times Ronaldo would go and have a week off and we’d all be standing around wondering why. But he would be recharging his batteries, I think Bruno needs that. He needs to be taken out of the limelight a bit and come back fresher, otherwise he will just be running himself into the ground.”
“That will only make him more agitated and frustrated and then we won’t see the best of him. Just to settle him down and let him get a rest and get his legs back a bit, go and take a week holiday and take him out of the firing line.”
United’s record goalscorer added, “When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart. That was the start. We’ve seen it now with Bruno and you’re going to see it with more players because they don’t want to take responsibility.”
“You can say whether Bruno was right or wrong in what he said but you have to take responsibility on the pitch. You have to take responsibility as a group of players.”
“These players, they’re selfish. They don’t care about their team-mates, don’t care about the manager, the staff or the fans, they care about themselves. If they’re not getting what’s right for them, they’re like babies and just throw their toys out of the pram and go and deflect the blame on to anyone else but themselves.”
United are next in action on Sunday when they host Bournemouth.
Featured image by Michael Steele via Getty Images
