Brady questioning my work ethic was very unfair – Rooney

Wayne Rooney says it was “very unfair” of NFL great Tom Brady to question his work ethic as head coach at Birmingham City.

Rooney was sacked by Birmingham, where Brady is a part-owner, after 83 days in January 2024.

The former England captain was speaking on a new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, which starts on Friday and will air twice weekly on BBC Sounds, YouTube and iPlayer.

Responding to Brady, the former Everton and Manchester United striker said he was “really disappointed with the comment”.

Brady, who became a minority owner at Birmingham in August 2023, queried Rooney’s attitude during a documentary following him as he got involved at St Andrew’s.

In one scene, following a visit to the club’s training ground in November 2023, the seven-time Super Bowl winner told colleagues he was “a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic”.

“I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don’t think he really understood football that well,” Rooney said.

“But what he does understand is, he’s a hard worker, we know that.”

Rooney added: “Football is not NFL – NFL works for three months a year. Players do need rest as well, so I think he’s very unfair, the way he’s come out and portrayed that.”

Championship club Birmingham were taken over by Knighthead Capital Management LLC in June 2023, with Brady joining two months later.

In October 2023, with the team sitting sixth in the Championship, the new ownership controversially replaced manager John Eustace with former England captain Rooney.

However, Manchester United’s record goalscorer only lasted 15 matches in the post before being replaced after the team had plummeted to 20th in the table.

Tony Mowbray succeeded Rooney, but stepped aside, initially on sick leave, eight matches into his reign after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Birmingham, who used seven managers – including caretaker appointments – during the owners’ first 10 months, were relegated to League One at the end of the 2023-24 season.

“When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess really,” said Rooney.

“Hence the fact that the players weren’t really the players who could take the club forward.

“You had Tony Mowbray, Gary Rowett after me, who also struggled as well.”

In the summer of 2024, with Chris Davies now installed as manager, Birmingham’s new owners invested £30m in transfers, an unprecedented figure for League One.

The club broke the Football League record for most points in a season, finishing top of League One in 2024-25 with a tally of 111.

“Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively,” said Rooney.

“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 and I think what they have done is got the players out that they needed to get out.”

In the same documentary in which he queried Rooney’s application, Brady also referred to Birmingham players from that disastrous 2023-24 campaign as “lazy and entitled”.

The first episode of The Wayne Rooney Show will be available from 06:00 BST on Friday 15 August – watch on BBC Sport YouTube and iPlayer. Listen on BBC Sounds.