WAYNE ROONEY has stunned his BBC colleagues with his Manchester United prediction for the 2025/26 season.
The England and Red Devils icon has joined Match of the Day as a regular pundit for the upcoming season in an £800,000 deal – as exclusively revealed by SunSport in July.
X @BBCMOTDWayne Rooney stunned his BBC colleagues with his bold Man Utd season prediction[/caption]
But he also heavily backed many of United’s rivals
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Ahead of the season, new presenter Kelly Cates – who is co-hosting the iconic show with Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan following the departure of Gary Lineker – asked Rooney for his thoughts on the season.
And the 39-year-old went bold with his call for his former club, for whom he is the record goalscorer.
He predicted a relatively safe top four, with United’s hated rivals Liverpool finishing first again, Arsenal once again in second, Manchester City in third and Chelsea in fourth.
But for Ruben Amorim‘s Red Devils, he believes they can sneak into the Champions League next season by finishing fifth – 10 places higher than they managed last season.
He explained: “Yeah, as I said, I still think they need one or two more signings.
“But I think Amorim, I can see what he’s doing [and] it’s looking better for Man Utd and I think they will sneak into the top five.”
He added: “I hope they do and you never know they might finish higher.”
Rooney was joined on the panel of the special preview show by Danny Murphy and Julien Laurens.
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Laurens was quick to tease Rooney for the bold claim, joking: “Who did you play for again?”
Rooney quipped back by saying, “Everton“, as the panel were left in stitches.
His predictions also extended to player predictions, including most important signing, the Golden Boot winner, breakout star and highest promoted team.
And if there was any question over bias towards his old sides United and Everton, Rooney certainly didn’t let it cloud his judgement in these cases.
He named Liverpool’s Jeremie Frimpong as the most important transfer, while adding Mohamed Salah would reclaim his Golden Boot title.
United’s bitter rivals, Leeds, were also named as the team he believes will finish highest out of the newly-promoted Premier League sides, with Burnley and Sunderland also coming up from the Championship.
Rooney also named the Reds’ 16-year-old starlet Rio Ngumoha as the player he believes will enjoy a breakout season.
Shutterstock EditorialRooney predicted Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Jeremie Frimpong to be two of the top performers this season[/caption]
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