Wayne Rooney has replied to comments made by NFL legend Tom Brady about his time as Birmingham City manager. Brady, who is a part-owner of Birmingham, spoke in a recent documentary called Built in Birmingham: Brady & The Blues.
In the documentary, Brady said he was concerned about how hard Rooney was working during his time as Birmingham’s manager. Brady became a part-owner of the club in August 2023, and Rooney took charge as manager two months later in October. After just 83 days, in January 2024, Rooney was sacked following a series of poor results, and the team was eventually relegated to League One.
Brady’s comments were based on a single visit to the training ground, which happened a day before a match usually a lighter training day in football. He also said that some of the players in Rooney’s team lacked effort and acted as if they were entitled.
Rooney has now said that Brady’s view was “very unfair” and that the NFL star did not fully understand how football works. Speaking on his new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, he explained that American football only runs for about three months a year, while soccer is played almost the whole year. He said football players need regular rest to perform well.
Rooney made it clear that he still respects Brady. He called him “one of the greatest, if not the greatest, athletes of all time.” He also said he is glad that Birmingham City is now doing better under the current management. When Rooney first joined, he said the club was in a “mess” and did not have players who could take the team forward.
Since then, the club’s owners, led by U.S. investment group Knighthead Capital, have spent around £30 million on new players a record amount for a League One team. This big investment helped Birmingham win the League One title in the 2024–25 season with 111 points, the most ever in the English Football League. Rooney praised the changes made to the squad, saying the owners have removed players who were not helping the team progress.