Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has said the club should not be awarded Premier League titles retrospectively if Manchester City are stripped of trophies following their alleged financial-rule breaches.
Rooney was part of the Manchester United team that finished second behind City in the 2011-12 Premier League season. However, he said he would not be comfortable receiving the title years later because United did not finish top of the table.
Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, with the financial allegations covering the period between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
The club was also accused of failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations between December 2018 and February 2023.
No sanctions have been announced yet, while City intend to appeal the decision. One potential punishment could involve the club being stripped of Premier League titles won during the period covered by the charges.
Speaking on the Stick to United podcast, Rooney said he would not want Manchester United to inherit any of City’s titles.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I’m being honest, because I don’t think we deserve it. We didn’t do enough that season to win the league,” Rooney said.
The former England international said he had also considered the issue from the viewpoint of City’s players, who would have believed they had earned the title through their performances on the pitch.
“If those players have got no understanding of what’s going on above them, then if that happened to me – if all of a sudden Manchester United have been doing the same and I’m getting my Premier League medals taken away from me – I’d be absolutely devastated,” he added.
Rooney also addressed comments from former Manchester United teammates Rio Ferdinand and David de Gea, who had suggested that the club should receive retrospective titles following City’s guilty verdict.
“When I’ve heard of ex-teammates and people saying, ‘we’ve won another medal’, I’m happy with the five I’ve won,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want this one just sat there… 15 years later or whatever it was you get a medal because City cheated. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
However, Rooney said he believes Manchester City could be relegated as part of the sanctions eventually imposed on the club.
“I do think we’re going to see City getting relegated,” he said.
“I’d put them in the lowest league they can go in and then put restrictions on them in terms of how much money they can spend for the next three or four seasons.”
He further suggested that the punishment could involve relegation to League Two and points deductions lasting several seasons.
“If it’s Championship for a season, you could talk players round. I’d go as big as I can really,” Rooney said.
