Sir Alex Ferguson Made Huge Man United Call That Left Wayne Rooney 'Fuming'

Wayne Rooney has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson told him to leave his wife in hospital and prepare for a Manchester United match -- but he was then left on the bench.

The United legend was brought to Old Trafford by Ferguson in 2004 from Everton and enjoyed a special relationship with the iconic Scotsman.

Rooney, 36, lifted five Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Europa League, an FA Cup and three League Cups during his prolific spell at Old Trafford.

The former England striker and wife Coleen Rooney welcomed the birth of their first son, Kai, in 2009.

However, Rooney has claimed that Ferguson told him to leave Coleen in hospital so he could prepare for United’s Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow.

United and England’s all-time leading goalscorer was “fuming” when he found out that Ferguson had put him on the bench instead of the starting XI.

PA

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“I remember when Kai was born, just thinking ‘How am I meant to be responsible?’” Rooney told The Daily Mail.

“After he was born, Alex Ferguson asked me to go home and leave Coleen in hospital because we were playing CSKA Moscow in the Champions League the next day.

“I told him I hadn’t slept for two days but he said: ‘Go home, you’re playing.’

“I got to the stadium and he put me on the bench -- and rested [Dimitar] Berbatov from the squad. I was fuming. He gave me a day off after that.”

PA

Rooney left Old Trafford in 2017 and returned to Everton for a second spell, with the United hero also playing for DC United and Derby County before hanging up his boots.

The ex-United and England captain became the permanent manager of Derby after his retirement in 2021, with Rooney earning praise for his work at the Championship club.

Speaking on his relationship with Ferguson, Rooney admitted the best advice he ever received came from the legendary former United manager.

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Rooney explained: “The best advice I received was from Fergie. He’d say ‘you’re working too hard’ and at first I thought, ‘What do you mean? Isn’t that what you want?’

“But I used to try to run as hard as I could for 90 minutes and in the last 10 minutes be tired.

“The manager wanted his strikers to keep a little bit in the tank, because that match-winning chance might not arrive until the 90th minute.”

Topics: Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9