WAYNE ROONEY has admitted that he loved playing for England so much that he would go against Sir Alex Ferguson’s word just to wear the Three Lions on his chest.
Rooney, 39, played 120 times for England, representing the nation at three World Cups and three European Championships.
Wayne Rooney has explained just how much he loved playing for EnglandNews Group Newspapers Ltd
Times Newspapers LtdThe retired striker has revealed he used to ignore instructions from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to play for the Three Lions as much as possible[/caption]
The retired striker even held the honour of being England’s all-time top goalscorer for eight years, before current captain Harry Kane broke the record in 2023.
It is no surprise that Wazza loved pulling the shirt on, but his club boss at the time, Sir Alex, was less enthusiastic about one of his star players racking up even more minutes while on international duty.
Speaking on the BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show podcast, Rooney revealed he used to break Fergie’s rule of playing 45 minutes instead of the full 90 when he went away with England.
He said: “You want to be in every squad. I used to love getting called up to England, whether it was a friendly, whether it was a qualifier.
“I used to love going and meeting up with the players, preparing for the games. That’s probably the reason I got 120 caps, because I never used to pull out.
“I always remember Sir Alex Ferguson before we’d go in for some of the games, I’m sure he’d speak to the England manager as well.
“He’d be like: ‘Right, you, no more than 45 minutes. Make sure you come off after 45 minutes or you only play 45 minutes.’
“So, I’d get to England and I’d be like: ‘Boss, I want to play 90 minutes. I want to play the full game, don’t take me off,’ because I used to love playing.
Wayne Rooney’s England career
A brief look at Wayne Rooney’s time playing for the England national team…
STATS
Caps: 120
Goals: 53
Assists: 21
Yellow cards: 12
Red cards: 2
TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCES
Euro 2004 – Quarter-final exit to Portugal
World Cup 2006 – Quarter-final exit to Portugal
World Cup 2010 – Round of 16 exit to Germany
Euro 2012 – Quarter-final exit to Italy
World Cup 2014 – Group stage exit
Euro 2016 – Round of 16 exit to Iceland
DEBUT
February 12, 2003 vs Australia (aged 17)
FINAL GAME
November 15, 2018 vs USA (aged 33)
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“Some players were different and some players were protecting themselves with injuries as well, especially in the friendly games. But I used to love going.”
Rooney admitted that he thinks Ferguson cottoned on to his cheeky tactics after a while, but wasn’t too upset as long as it kept his momentum going in front of goal.
He added: “I think he knew, and to be honest, I was better when I was playing.
“The more I played, I was better. The more rhythm I got in my game. I don’t think he was too bothered.
“Like for instance, if Rio [Ferdinand] might have played on for 90 minutes, he might have been a bit annoyed with that.”
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