Wayne Rooney sent warning by Man Utd legend prior to Birmingham sacking as phone call leaked

A Manchester United legend has revealed that he warned Wayne Rooney about taking the Birmingham City job.

Rooney was confirmed as Birmingham manager back in October after the former England and Manchester United forward left MLS side DC United.

However, it was a disastrous appointment as the Blues fell from sixth place in the Championship to 20th.

During Monday’s 3-0 defeat against Leeds United, Birmingham fans made their feeling clear as they directed brutal chants at Rooney.

Rooney was eventually dismissed on Tuesday after just 15 matches in charge.

Now, Rooney’s former United teammate Rio Ferdinand has spoken about how he warned the former striker about taking the job in the first place.

Speaking on Vibe with Five, he said: “I spoke to Wayne on the phone when he got the job.

“I spoke to him at the time, it’s a difficult time to go into a club when the tails are up and they’re doing well, when they like the manager.”

Ferdinand continued: “I saw that players seemed to like the manager and were playing for him.

“Nine times out of 10 a manager replaces someone who isn’t doing well. This was a different scenario and his back was against the wall from the start.”

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When Rooney’s sacking was confirmed, a club statement read: “Birmingham City has today parted company with Manager, Wayne Rooney, and First Team Coach, Carl Robinson.

“Despite their best efforts, results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset. Therefore, the Board feels that a change in management is in the best interests of the Football Club.

“The Club’s Board and management are fully aligned and will continue to drive transformation and take bold steps to rebuild Birmingham City into the organisation its fans and community deserve.”

It continued: “The Board would like to place on record their sincere thanks to Wayne and Carl for all of their efforts.”