Wayne Rooney risks angering Man Utd teammates with latest take on Man City 115 charges saga

Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney gave an interesting response when asked if he’d want a retrospective Premier League winners’ medal if Manchester City were stripped of the 2011/12 title.

Rooney was discussing Manchester City’s current situation on Match of the Day 2, after the club was found guilty of the majority of the charges brought against them by the Premier League.

Since the guilty verdict was handed down, several former players from various clubs have offered their views on whether they would accept retrospective Premier League winners’ medals.

Ex-Man Utd stars offer take on being awarded retrospective titles

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Potential punishments include suspension from playing in the league, points deductions, the replaying of matches, expulsion from the league, being ordered to pay compensation to other clubs, automatic relegation and even the stripping of titles.

Former Manchester United stars Rio Ferdinand, David de Gea and Paul Scholes have all joked that they would gladly accept another medal, having finished second to City in the 2011/12 campaign.

“So, how many Premier League titles have I won?” De Gea wrote on X after the verdict was handed down, while Scholes posted on Instagram: “Keep hearing ex-teammates saying they want trophies taken off them, but they don’t want their medals… f*** that, I’m a greedy b****, I want my medal.”

Meanwhile, Ferdinand also couldn’t help himself and posted: “Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet,” after the guilty verdict was announced.

Wayne Rooney doesn’t want retrospective medals

However, Rooney disagrees with his former teammates.

Speaking to Kelly Cates on last night’s episode of Match of the Day 2, Rooney was asked whether he would accept a retrospective title and winners’ medal.

"They could be fighting for the title or fighting for relegation. No one knows where it’s going to end up,” he began.

"It’s a bad situation to be in, but as far as the players are concerned, all they can do is go out and try and do their job on the pitch. As I said before, the powers above them and the independent panel will decide what happens in terms of the punishment. They can only go out and play, and try to beat what’s in front of them."

“It’s difficult… I look at it from a player’s point of view,” Rooney added.

“Those players didn’t know what was going on, and they went onto the football pitch and won the league in 2012. So, we finished second. We didn’t actually finish first, and so I wouldn’t want a medal for finishing second.”

Of course, Rooney was part of the United side that finished second to City on goal difference on the final day of the 2011/12 campaign, with Sergio Aguero’s late strike securing Roberto Mancini’s side the title at United’s expense.

City have already appealed the verdict and say they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists” to support their position.

“The Club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe,” Manchester City said in a previous statement. “The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.”

The result of the appeal is expected within the next 12 weeks and will be made public within 30 days.

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