'What's the point?' - Wayne Rooney reveals clash with Jose Mourinho over 'standards' at Man Utd before League Cup final

Ex-England captain Rooney was on the books at Old Trafford when outspoken Portuguese coach Mourinho arrived in the summer of 2016. The Red Devils’ all-time leading goalscorer was club captain at that point and had been schooled in the methods of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mourinho’s debut campaign with United would be Rooney’s last, but he left with Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League winners’ medals. He enjoyed those successes, but is not convinced that Mourinho set the Red Devils up in the right way behind the scenes.

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show podcast, a demanding character said: “I remember we went to the League Cup final and players were wearing the suits with big, bright yellow trainers and stuff like that. I went to Mourinho and said, ‘Listen, I've spoken to the players and you need to have a word here and to keep the standards. We can't have that going to Wembley into a cup final’.

“'He's like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I'll speak to them’. And then as we came down to leave, I've seen Jose there and he's got a zip-up top with no tie on. I was thinking, ‘What's the point?’ 'He was more relaxed on it, so, what's the point? Why am I even bothering with this? I think now it's just wear what you want and they have phones, caps, whatever trainers would suit.”

Mourinho’s methods did not come as a huge surprise to Rooney as he added on noticing that Chelsea players were not forced to abide by strict rules during the Portuguese’s time at Stamford Bridge: “When you used to look at Chelsea, if you looked at the players who weren't in the squad, they were on the bench and they were all in their own clothes, and I thought it looked a bit scruffy.

“Whereas at United, it was really professional and everyone, even if you're not in the squad, would be in the club suits. It looked really professional, and it's gone now. I think now it's the same with every club, they just wear whatever they want. But I just always think, United looked really professional.”

Rooney has since become a manager in his own right, but has found the going tough across spells with Derby, D.C United, Birmingham and Plymouth. He is back on punditry duty at present and enjoying spending more time with wife Coleen as the Rooney family prepares to star in a Disney+ documentary series.