Rooney rattled over coverage of baffling USA return
WAYNE ROONEY says it is disrespectful to Major League Soccer to label his return to DC United a backward step.
Mail+ wrote on Monday that his decision to return to the United States as manager of his former club was a retrograde move, given the likelihood of him landing a decent Championship or Premier League job. But Rooney used his unveiling in Washington to hit back. ‘I’ve seen a few articles, certainly back in England, on this being a backward step in my managerial career,’ he said. ‘I really find that a bit disrespectful to this league.’ The point Rooney misses is that the article was as much about him as it was MLS. It was intended as a compliment. The same was not written about Phil Neville when he took over at Inter Miami last year. For Neville, taking his first job in men’s management, it felt like a sensible move. For Rooney, it does not.
Unlike Neville, he does not need MLS as a stepping stone. He had done the hard yards at Derby, only to take what now feels like an easy option. His franchise may be joint bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they cannot be relegated. How does that tally with the fighter in him? What can he really prove in a league which, in many ways, adheres to principles different to those of English and European football? Some claim Rooney may want to escape the media glare of this country. He has, however, recently made a film featuring him and his family, so he cannot be that fussed about it. Maybe Rooney agrees with talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan, who said: ‘If he wants to manage then why not (go to MLS)? He was never, ever, ever, ever going to get a job as a manager in the Championship or in the Premier League soon. ’ But what of Rooney’s claims of disrespect towards MLS? The league is undoubtedly producing more players capable of performing in Europe’s top divisions. Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich is the finest example, while Leeds have just signed two USA internationals, Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson, and already have English winger Jack Harrison, who spent two years at New York City. But they left MLS, as players of promise do. Rooney will be inheriting last season’s joint top scorer, DC striker Ola Kamara. He is a 32-year-old Norwegian who has never played in Europe’s top leagues. That is not disrespectful. It is a fair observation of the standard, which remains below the Championship. The MLS spending model does not allow for growth the way European leagues do. Yes, a new $2.5billion TV deal with Apple is significant but that is spread over 10 years, guaranteeing another decade of MLS being way behind the Premier League in terms of TV revenue. As for the accusation of MLS being a semiretirement home, the two biggest signings this summer have been Gareth Bale, who turns 33 on Saturday, and Giorgio Chiellini, 37, joining Los Angeles FC. They are brilliant additions, but does that point to progress? Rooney has never been one for a comfort zone, which is why, despite his protests, his return to MLS is baffling. It is a view that has clearly hit a nerve.