Earlier this month a documentary series focusing on Tom Brady’s part ownership of soccer club Birmingham made waves after the seven-time Super Bowl champion openly criticized the manager’s work ethic.
Said manager was former English football star Wayne Rooney – key word…was. Brady took over part ownership of the club in 2023 and Rooney was hired as the team’s coach in October of that year, but was dismissed after just 15 matches in charge of Birmingham, which suffered relegation.
What Did Brady Say About Rooney?
Rooney was dismissed from his role in January 2024 after just 15 matches in charge with the side 20th of 24 in the Championship. They were eventually relegated to League One at the end of the season, the first time in 29 years that the West Midlands had fallen into England’s third tier.
InAmazon Prime’s Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues, which was released on August 1, Brady voiced concern about Rooney, saying: “I’m a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic,” before adding: “I mean, I don’t know, I don’t have great instincts on that.”
Rooney’s Response to Brady
Nearly two weeks after Brady’s comment surfaced, Rooney, who is the third-leading scorer in English Premier League History, took to his podcast to open up on the critical comments from the longtime New England Patriots quarterback.
“I saw that last week from Tom Brady. I think it was a very unfair comment,” Rooney said. “When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess really. Hence, the fact that the players weren’t really the players who could take the club forward.
“I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don’t think he really understood football that well. But what he does understand is, he’s a hard worker, we know that.”
Rooney doubled down, suggesting “football is not the NFL” and believes the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s comments were “very unfair.”
“Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively,” Rooney added. “He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete of all time and Birmingham do look like they’re getting it right now, which is good. I think what they have done is got the players out that they needed to get out.”
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