“My pass is also amazing without pressure.”
Jose Mourinho has a plan for the England captain; Wayne Rooney will not be playing in midfield as long as The Special One is in charge at Old Trafford.
Our new boss at the Theatre of Dreams… #mufc pic.twitter.com/vMZykH8jdS
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 5, 2016
Mourinho gave his first press conference after being unveiled as Louis van Gaal’s successor at Manchester United and, when tasked as to where he sees Rooney playing next season, he was definite about one aspect; Rooney will never play “number six”.
In case you haven’t seen it, take a look here, as Mourinho gives an interesting insight into his vision of Rooney, notably pointing out that the skipper’s passing range is only impressive when he is afforded the time.
Jose Mourinho says Wayne Rooney's best position is up front… #mufc https://t.co/QSbZqLvq0y
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 5, 2016
People have reacted to those words as you’d expect…
If José Mourinho doesn’t like what he sees from Rooney, he’ll cut him from the team. He’s not afraid to upset anyone or cause a raucous.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) July 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/Conjob123/status/750276858202189824
Mourinho: "It is normal that a player Rooney's age has to change. His natural appetite to score never changes."
— Man Utd Stuff (@ManUtdStuff) July 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/Conjob123/status/750275974814654464
Mourinho: "For me Rooney will be a No. 9, No. 10 or No. 9.5 but never a No. 6 or a No. 8."
— Man Utd Stuff (@ManUtdStuff) July 5, 2016
Mourinho superb on Rooney in midfield: "You can tell me his pass is amazing but my pass is amazing too without pressure."
— Simon Bajkowski (@spbajko) July 5, 2016
It's enough to make you wonder if Wayne Rooney was ever a midfielder 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) July 5, 2016
Interesting to hear Jose Mourinho talk about Wayne Rooney's place at MU in terms of numbers.
— Seosamh O'Fionnagáin 🇮🇪 (@joefinegan1) July 5, 2016
So Wayne Rooney up front. No more mess . Just need to sign Pogba
— 🆁🅴🅳🅼🅰🅽 (@Rdte09) July 5, 2016
Thought his talk about Rooney was positive, just very clear he sees him further forward. Slight curveball after Zlatan signing
— Simon Bajkowski (@spbajko) July 5, 2016
It’ll be interesting to see what Mourinho sticks with next season, but looking likely:
Martial, Rooney, Mkhitaryan behind Ibrahimović.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) July 5, 2016
And, perhaps, most interesting…
So Rooney has gone from competing with nobody to now competing with Rashford/Zlatan/Martial/Mkhitaryan and Mata (for now)… Lovely stuff
— Enda Higgins (@endahiggins88) July 5, 2016
