"They just chased star names" — Rooney exposes truth behind Man United’s "failed" transfers

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·12 November 2025

"They just chased star names" — Rooney exposes truth behind Man United’s "failed" transfers

The Red Devils legend points to Lukaku, Pogba, and Ibrahimović as examples of costly mistakes

"They just chased star names" — Rooney exposes truth behind Man United’s failed transfers

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Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney delivered brutally honest assessment of the club’s transfer dealings over the past decade describing several high profile signings as "catastrophic".

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Rooney said United’s recruitment strategy after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement lacked identity.

"The previous signings were disastrous, weren’t they?" Rooney said. "They just signed big names — look at Lukaku, Zlatan, Pogba... they’re good players but the club was only chasing star names and spent huge amounts of money doing it"

"It will take time to fix these mistakes"

Rooney, United’s all-time leading scorer believes the consequences of those errors are still being felt at Old Trafford though he senses gradual improvement under Ruben Amorim.

"It will take time to move past those mistakes" he explained. "When you look at what’s happened at Man United over the last ten years, you can see some players were treated poorly. Now that results are improving, there’s gradual return of confidence and the manager needed those results, too"

"The team looks better — but they need more"

Rooney praised the progress of the current squad but urged the club to strengthen in January to push for European qualification.

"You can see more confidence now and the team’s improving" he said. "I’d like to see more of Bruno Fernandes on the ball. January will be interesting , can they convince players to come in and give that extra push they need to reach the top 4 or 5 in the Premier League?"

While Rooney ruled out title challenge this season, he insisted that fans should recognize the steps being made in rebuilding the squad.

"Let’s be realistic .. are they going to win the league? no. can they finish in the top 4 or 5? Maybe. we’re seeing better recruitment and better coaching now" he concluded.