Wayne Rooney has dismissed the possibility of accepting a Premier League winners’ medal if City are stripped of their title, despite calls from former Manchester United teammates Rio Ferdinand and David de Gea.
Rooney won five Premier League titles with United. He does not want a sixth added retrospectively. That remains his view even if City are punished over the 115 charges.
The former United captain explained his position on the Stick To United podcast. He said he would not feel comfortable claiming a title his team failed to win on the pitch.
“I have heard Rio has come out saying about getting another Premier League medal… I wouldn’t really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I’m being honest,” Rooney said.
The comments put Rooney at odds with Ferdinand and de Gea, who both suggested they could add another title to their respective collections following the latest reports surrounding City’s case.
Rooney does not want another title added to his record
Rooney was questioned explicitly on the prospect of City losing a Premier League title over the claims of financial misconduct.
While he did not dismiss the notion
“Should they get it stripped for what the owners have done?” Yeah, maybe, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting it,” Rooney said in his interview with The Independent.
Ferdinand and de Gea took a different view after fresh reports surrounding City’s 115 charges emerged.
Ferdinand posted, “Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet.”
De Gea also raised the issue on social media, asking, “So… let’s talk. How many Premier League titles have I won then?”
Rooney, however, said he was happy with the five titles he won during his career and had no desire to change that number.
Rooney points to United’s 2011-12 collapse
Most of Rooney’s logic appears to depend on the Premier League season of 2011-12.
United appeared to be in control of the title race before surrendering their lead, allowing City to snatch the championship on goal difference.
Sergio Aguero’s stoppage-time winner in the last game of the 2011-12 season against QPR won the title in one of the most memorable finishes in Premier League history.
Rooney believes United’s failure that season was down to their own performances rather than City’s ownership or financial position.
“I don’t think we deserve it, we didn’t do enough that season to win the league,” he said.
“I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.”
For that reason, Rooney does not believe United should be handed the title years later.
“I’m happy with the five I’ve won,” he added.
Rooney says City players should not be punished
Rooney also acknowledged the potential impact on the current Manchester City squad if the club is found guilty of the charges.
The players have no control over decisions made by the club’s owners or executives. Rooney said that would make any retrospective punishment particularly difficult for those involved.
“They’re players, they’re doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title, and in their mind they have done it,” Rooney said.
“If those players had no understanding of what is going on above them, if that happened to me… I would be absolutely devastated.”
His comments separate the players from the wider allegations against the club. They also explain why Rooney is reluctant to rewrite the history of a title race after the fact.
What happens next in the Manchester City 115 charges case?
The 115 allegations that are still pending against Manchester City relate only to charges in the Premier League, but no verdicts have yet been made which have led to the stripping of titles.
The club denies any wrongdoing and is appealing the allegations. Should the club be found guilty, the points deductions or other sanctions would be determined by the independent process.
Which means the talk of retrospective Premier League medals is still speculative for now.
Rooney’s words, though, do make another contribution to the argument. Where Ferdinand and de Gea have joked about pushing for more in their interviews Rooney has said he is better off with the five he earned during his playing days.
For him, United’s lost 2011-12 crown came down to their own failure to complete the job. And he doesn’t feel a subsequent decision in City’s favour should alter that.
