Wayne Rooney has responded to Tom Brady after the NFL great questioned his work ethic in a new documentary about their time together at Birmingham City. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner and minority owner at St Andrew's, is heard voicing concerns in the series 'Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues'.
In the documentary, Brady tells his business manager Ben Rawitz: "I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic. I mean, I don't have great instincts on that." He also describes Birmingham's players from the 2023-24 relegation campaign as "lazy and entitled". Rooney was sacked after managing just two wins in 15 matches.
Rooney, now relaunching his media career with a BBC-affiliated podcast, said Brady did not fully grasp football. "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," he said. "But what he does understand is ... he's a hard worker – we know that."
The former Manchester United striker defended his short spell at Birmingham, noting that the club was in disarray. "When I went into Birmingham, they were in a mess really," he said. "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."
Rooney also took issue with Brady's comparison to American football, saying: "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." Despite the criticism, Rooney expressed respect for Brady, calling him "one of the greatest, if not the greatest, athletes of all time" and praising Birmingham's recent promotion under Chris Davies with a record 111 points.
Birmingham were taken over by Knighthead Capital Management, led by Tom Wagner, in summer 2023, with Brady becoming a shareholder two months later.
