Wayne Rooney has revealed how Manchester United’s senior players would push Nani to stay behind after training as Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad created their own culture of extra work.
The former United captain was discussing the mentality inside the dressing room during one of the club’s most successful periods, when competition for places included Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Nani.
Rooney explained that staying behind after the scheduled session was something players encouraged each other to do rather than simply waiting for instructions from the coaching staff.
“We used to force Nani to do it,” Rooney said when recalling the extra training.
Wayne Rooney reveals Man Utd training standards
Rooney’s recollection is backed up by comments made by former United midfielder Anderson during the same era.
Asked by Sky Sports who United’s best trainers were, Anderson named Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, explaining that the trio would regularly remain behind after sessions to practise and improve.
That environment appears to have extended beyond the players who were already setting the standard.
Rooney says others were actively encouraged to join them, with Nani one example of a player they wanted to see doing additional work.
The Portugal international arrived from Sporting CP in 2007 and developed into an important attacking player under Ferguson, eventually recording 40 goals and 73 assists across 230 appearances for United.
Rooney himself became United’s all-time leading goalscorer with 253 goals.
His comments provide another glimpse into the internal expectations of the squad he played in, where improvement did not necessarily stop when the main training session finished.
Rooney has been speaking regularly about his former club recently. He called for Manchester United to make four more signings before the transfer window closes, highlighting the standards he believes Michael Carrick’s current squad must reach.
He has also backed Marcus Rashford to challenge his United goalscoring record if the forward can rediscover his hunger at Old Trafford.
Rooney’s latest story offers a reminder of how demanding the environment was during Ferguson’s most successful years.
For Nani, even finishing the day’s training was apparently not always enough to get away from his team-mates.
