'Very unfair' - Wayne Rooney admits he's 'really disappointed' at Tom Brady criticism of work ethic at Birmingham and says NFL legend didn't 'really understand football at the time'

Birmingham minority owner Brady expressed his concerns about Rooney's "work ethic" during Rooney's fateful 83-day spell at the club. Now, the Manchester United hero has hit back at the NFL icon, saying he was disappointed with the remark and that just because he is a sporting great, it doesn't mean he knows a lot about football.

He told BBC Sport: “I think it was a very unfair comment. When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess really. Hence the fact that, the players weren’t really the players who could take the club forward. We knew that and I think, Tom come in once which was the day before a game where the day is a little bit light anyway and I don’t think he really understood football that well at the time, maybe he does now…  

"But what he does understand is, he’s a hard worker, we know that, so that’s why I’m really disappointed with the comment because football is not NFL - NFL works for 3 months a year, players do need rest as well, so I think he was very unfair the way he’s come out and portrayed that.  

 “Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively, he’s one of the greatest - if not the greatest athletes - of all time and Birmingham do look like they’re getting it right now, which is good. I think what they have done is got the players out they need to get out because when I was there, you had Tony Mowbray, Gary Rowett after me who also struggled as well… but yeah bit disappointed but nothing too serious so move on.”

The seven-time Super Bowl winner made those comments in November 2023, with Rooney sacked by Birmingham two months later. While the decision to get rid of him has since paid dividends, after manager Chris Davies led the club back to the Championship at the first time of asking, Rooney clearly feels aggrieved that a relative stranger to football is questioning him in a sport he has been involved in for the vast majority of his life.

As the former England captain gets ready to launch his new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, Brady's Birmingham are in Championship action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Blackburn Rovers.