Wayne Rooney joins BBC Sport punditry team for Man Utd's FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest as ex-Birmingham boss makes surprising career move two months after being dismissed by Tom Brady & Co

Two months after he was removed as Birmingham City manager by Tom Brady and Co, Rooney has decided to make a surprise career move as he joins BBC Sport as a pundit. He will be a part of their match coverage for the upcoming FA Cup fifth-round clash between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.

After taking up the new role, Rooney said: "Watching the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup every year was always very special growing up. I’m so excited to be joining up with the team to cover what will undoubtedly be an action-packed tie in this historic competition. Having played and managed in the competition, it’s great to be on the other side of the camera this time and hopefully, I can bring some of that FA Cup experience to the coverage."

The 38-year-old won just one FA Cup title in his illustrious career, which came in the 2015-16 season while playing for the Red Devils. Post-retirement, the former England international took up coaching roles at Derby County and D.C. United before joining Tom Brady co-owned Birmingham. At the Championship side, Rooney lasted just a couple of months at the helm as he managed to guide them to only two wins in 15 matches.

While punditry is something that the United legend is excited about at the moment, he would love to return to coaching soon, as he had recently expressed his desire to work under Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.