Wayne Rooney has revealed he turned to punditry to give him a purpose following his playing career, as he admitted he may never manage again.
The former Manchester United and England spoke of his move into punditry on the new Disney+ documentary The Real Rooneys.
Rooney is now an established Match of the Day pundit and impressed with his forthright views during the summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 40-year-old joined the iconic football show at the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season, reportedly signing a £800,000-a-year deal.
Rooney had turned to punditry after unsuccessful spells in management, with his final two roles being short-term spells in charge of Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
When showing off trophies won during his career – which had seen him score 253 goals for Man United and 53 for England – Rooney was asked why he had not retired outright.
Wayne Rooney has admitted he turned to punditry to give him a purpose following his glittering playing career
Rooney revealed the move into punditry as to give him a purpose after his playing career.
‘I’m not doing it for money I’m doing it for a purpose rather than just being at the house all day,’ Rooney said.
‘There’s a possibility I’ll never manage again so moving forward.
‘I need a role on The Masked Singer, but I’d get hammered’.
Rooney’s last job in management came at Plymouth, where he was sacked with the club at the foot of the Championship table in December.
His dismissal followed a dismal run which had seen the Pilgrims win just four matches and suffer 13 defeats in 23 Championship games.
When asked by his wife Coleen whether he was sad about about losing the Plymouth job, Rooney responded: ‘No I’m a realist I think you know as a player when your career is going to end and you can prepare for that.
‘So the next stage in management for instance you don’t know whether you’ll be there a year, two years, 10 years or 3 months.
‘Your not prepared when you lose the job.
Rooney acknowledged he may never manage again after several unsuccessful stints in the dugout
‘I’m enjoying Match of the Day and it’s time to learn and get better at what I’m doing.’
Rooney has since been one of the BBC’s leading pundits during the World Cup, where he has earned praise for his development in his new career.
While typically giving his verdict on matches, Rooney entertained viewers by branding FIFA’s World Cup final half-time show as ‘c***’, adding that he thought ‘the best part was when it finished.’
