Rio Ferdinand names Wayne Rooney as his ‘worst Man Utd team-mate’ in BBC podcast
RIO FERDINAND has explained how Wayne Rooney was his worst team-mate to play with due to the number of arguments they had on the field.
Ferdinand and Rooney played in one of the most successful Manchester United teams of all time under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning several Premier Leagues and a Champions League together.
During their ten years together at United, Rooney established himself as the club’s all time record goalscorer and Ferdinand became a Premier League hall of fame defender.
But Ferdinand has revealed that he and Rooney would have their differences on the pitch which led to multiple arguments during games.
The former England centre-back was appearing on rugby league legend Rob Burrow’s podcast.
Burrow suffers from motor neurone disease and asks questions using an eye-gaze machine.
He asks each guest seven questions as he looks to understand how top players operate.
Ferdinand explained his desire to get the best out of Rooney on the field led to arguments.
He said: “The worst team-mate I probably had the most arguments with Wayne Rooney to be honest with you. Never came to blows, it was on the pitch.
“We never argued in training really, it was just match day, we probably argued once every two or three games, effing and blinding, screaming at each other because I wanted more from him.
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“The biggest thing for me with Wayne is he wanted to play 30 or 40 yard passes like Paul Scholes, and he could do it, he was that good. I wanted him to score 30 or 40 goals a season, because he could.
“We played one season and he scored 30-something goals and he wasn’t happy because he wasn’t getting involved in the game and dictating it, he was having to play high. And I couldn’t get my head around it. That’s the top striker, I want you to be that because I know you can be that.
“But he loved football that much he wanted to play football like he was playing in the park, and we used to argue, I’d tell him to shoot and he’d scream back at me. But they were good arguments.
The internal arguments proved to be fruitful as Rooney went on to score 253 goals and become United’s all time top goalscorer.
He would re-join his boyhood club Everton in 2017, where he did operate deeper in the team – either as an attacking or defensive midfielder.
Rooney is the current manager of Birmingham in the Championship – but has endured a tough period since taking over in October.