Wayne Rooney snubs Erling Haaland and Man Utd stars as 'biggest career regret' revealed

View 3 Images

Erling Haaland wasn't included in Wayne Rooney's hypothetical current Premier League five-a-side team, as the Manchester United legend opened up on his playing and managerial career. The England legend recently launched The Wayne Rooney Show with the BBC .

And in the most recent instalment, Wazza took part in a Q&A session as fans worldwide were keen on picking his brain. On top of speaking about his tenure at Old Trafford under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson and his stance on Rockport boots, Rooney was asked who would make his five-a-side team if he had to select a squad of current Premier League stars.

The 40-year-old was quick to pick Manchester City talent Phil Foden as the first name on his team sheet, before justifying his selection by saying: "It would be 5-a-side, Phil Foden... tight areas, brilliant."

Rooney then listed Cole Palmer , Moises Caicedo , Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah to make up the rest of his side - hilariously snubbing the option to take a goalkeeper.

However, in doing so, he surprisingly omitted any Manchester United stars currently performing under Ruben Amorim - despite the likes of Bruno Fernandes , Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo excelling as of recent.

When Kae Kurd was asked by Kelly Somers to pick up on Rooney's choices, the comedian added: "Do you know what? I would pick Haaland though, just purely because of the fact he's so big and whatever. I'm going for like outmuscling the rest of the lads, and I think Haaland is quite big."

However, Rooney then noted how in such a small space, the likes of Foden, Saka and Palmer would knock the ball around taller players, saying that Haaland "wouldn't get near them" or the ball.

Kurd then added that he would take Kobbie Mainoo , with Rooney agreeing: "Yeah, Kobbie would be good," before Somers joked: "So he got some minutes?" nodding to limited game-time seen under Amorim as of late.

View 3 Images

Elsewhere in the show, Rooney was asked by a fan what his biggest career regret was. Looking toward his managerial terms rather than his playing days, the Englishman highlighted how he rues the circumstances in which he took the Birmingham City role.

After enjoying coaching stints with Derby County and DC United , Rooney took up tenure with Birmingham in October 2023 on a three-year deal. There, he succeeded John Eustace, who had helped the Blues achieve their highest points tally since 2016 and built an incredible rapport with fans before he was dismissed due to a "misalignment with the leadership of the Club."

Speaking about joining Birmingham, Rooney said: "Biggest regret was the timing I went into Birmingham. It was in management. For sure. And the whole thing about it really is probably what I regret.

"The owners were great, from that point of view. It was just the timing and John Eustace was doing a good job and obviously that's nothing to do with me when they got rid of John.

View 3 Images

"But going in at the time, and the fans like John. And they'd started okay in the league and I just wouldn't do it again if I was in that situation again."

Rooney lasted just 15 games at St Andrews before he was handed his walking papers in January 2024, with Birmingham ultimately facing relegation to League One as the season drew to a close. However, he wasn't out of a job for long, finding himself appointed the manager of Plymouth Argyle just months later in the May.

It wasn't meant to be for Rooney, however, as he left the club by mutual agreement last December, having won just five games from 25 matches. He is yet to return to management since, instead seemingly focusing on punditry.

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.