Rio Ferdinand opens up on Sir Alex Ferguson doubts over Wayne Rooney in big Man United games

25.01.2022 - 20:15 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Rio Ferdinand has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson had major doubts over Wayne Rooney’s temperament during his time at Manchester United.

Rooney went on to become a United great during his time at Old Trafford, surpassing Bobby Charlton’s record to become the club’s top goalscorer of all-time.

The former Everton forward was renowned for his hot-headed nature, which on occasion would land him in trouble – most notably when he was sent off for England against Portugal during the 2006 World Cup.

And, as Ferdinand revealed in the Vibe With Five podcast, that approach left Ferguson a little concerned when it came to the big games for United.

Discussing playing against Liverpool at Anfield, Ferdinand said: “You’ve got to be made of the right stuff. I remember Sir Alex Ferguson, I don’t think he really trusted Wazza [Rooney] even in that situation sometimes.

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“Wazza would get too hyped up. Wazza wasn’t scared, he had to manage himself in terms of, he’d explode because he’s got so much pent-up anger of it’s where he’s from, a lot of his mates are from that area, he’s an ex-Evertonian and he’s playing for Man United and they were on his case the whole time.

“When he was young, anger management was probably a part of his game that he had to curtail a little bit and work on, and I think early on the manager was a bit like ‘I’m going to have to take him out, I don’t think I’m going to play