Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has described the most difficult moment in a footballer’s career as accepting a decline in performance, drawing from his own experience at the top level.
Rooney, who spent 13 years at Old Trafford after joining from Everton in 2004, enjoyed a decorated career, making 559 appearances and scoring 253 goals while winning five Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
However, the former England captain left United in 2017 at the age of 31 after falling down the pecking order, opting for a return to Everton in search of regular playing time.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show as reported by BBC Sport, Rooney said recognising when a player is no longer at their peak is often the hardest reality to face.
“The hardest thing for a player is to understand that they may not be at the level they were,” he said.
“I did it at Manchester United when Zlatan Ibrahimović came in and I wasn’t playing. I wanted to play so I left straight away. I accepted it.”
Rooney drew parallels with Mohamed Salah, who is expected to leave Liverpool FC at the end of the season after nine years at Anfield.
Salah has been instrumental to Liverpool’s success, winning major honours including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Club World Cup. However, the Egyptian forward has experienced a dip in form this season by his high standards.
“I said this since the start of the season, age gets to us all and your legs go,” Rooney said.
“I think that’s happened to Salah this season and Virgil van Dijk hasn’t been the same this season.”
He added that a decline in key senior players could affect team dynamics, particularly leadership within the dressing room.
“They are the leaders in the dressing room. It’s hard for the other players to go and leave their mark or become the leaders,” he said.
While noting that some players remain at clubs longer than they should, Rooney stopped short of suggesting Van Dijk should leave Liverpool.
“I don’t think he will [leave] but you’ve seen players when they’ve stayed there for too long,” he said.
Rooney also reflected on the influence of former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, under whom Salah and Van Dijk reached their peak, leading the club to Champions League success in 2019 and their first league title in 30 years in 2020.
“Klopp was the only Liverpool manager I’ve looked at and would’ve loved to play for him, not for Liverpool, obviously,” Rooney said.
He contrasted Klopp’s personality with that of current manager Arne Slot.
“I said about Arne Slot that he doesn’t have the aura that Klopp has,” Rooney added.
“What Klopp brought, even when he’s walking around a restaurant with a bottle of beer, that’s what the people of Liverpool like.”