Wayne Rooney divides opinion as Match of the Day fans make feelings clear
Wayne Rooney made his debut as a Match of the Day regular over the weekend - and fans were left divided by the Manchester United legend. The former England man has made the move into punditry as part of the BBC 's new-look programme for the 2025/26 campaign.
Rooney was reportedly offered an £800,000 contract by the BBC for his new role. And his first opportunity to impress came on Saturday as the new season returned.
Rooney was alongside fellow pundit Alan Shearer, while Mark Chapman hosted the programme for the first time since his appointment as the permanent lead. Not every viewer was a big fan of Rooney's debut though.
Taking to Twitter, one football fan said: 'I'm going to say this now as it will be said all season; I mean no offence to him personally, but having Wayne Rooney on match of the day is a big mistake.'
One fan replied: 'Why???? He's an ex player who's won the tot at the top level why not have in on instead of people who know nothing about football???, 'while another hit back: 'He's no worse than 90% of footballer pundits. At least he's done it at the top level.'
A further viewer then said: 'He was an amazing footballer that has played and won at the top. But just because you have done something, does not automatically make you good to talk/explain and teach others well.'
And while response to Rooney's debut was mixed, one fan had a particularly amusing reaction to the broadcast, brutally echoing Tom Brady's criticism of the legendary striker during his time with Birmingham City. They wrote: 'I'm a little concerned about our new @BBCMOTD pundit's work ethic…"
Rooney has been out of work since a number of difficult years as a manager. He was sacked by Birmingham after just 15 games in charge, with the Blues then falling into League One shortly after.
Rooney was then appointed as boss of Plymouth Argyle ahead of the 2024/25 campaign but he took charge of just 25 games before being sacked. And he has since hinted that he has no immediate ambitions of returning to the dugout.
Speaking to talkSPORT earlier this month, the former striker said: 'Obviously just doing some TV work at the minute, so that's what I'm doing. I'm enjoying it. So, that's where I'll be.'
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