Wayne Rooney has made his position clear on the possibility of Manchester United being awarded a Premier League title if Manchester City are stripped of one as punishment for financial rule breaches.
Manchester City are yet to receive any sanctions and plan to appeal the decision. One possible punishment could involve the club being stripped of top-flight titles, including those won during the period covered by the financial case.
Wayne Rooney was part of the Manchester United team that finished second behind City in the dramatic 2011/12 Premier League season. Despite that, the former United captain does not believe his old club should receive the title retrospectively.
Speaking on the Stick to United podcast, Rooney said he would not feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal.
Rooney insists United did not deserve 2012 title
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I’m being honest, because I don’t think we deserve it,” Rooney said.
The former striker pointed to the fact that United finished second that season and believes the players should not suddenly be recognised as champions years later.
“We didn’t do enough that season to win the league,” he added.
Rooney also offered some sympathy for the City players who were involved at the time. He argued that players could have been working towards winning the title without knowing what was allegedly happening at boardroom level.
“If those players have got no understanding of what’s going on above them, then if that happened to me – if all of a sudden Manchester United have been doing the same and I’m getting my Premier League medals taken away from me – I’d be absolutely devastated,” Rooney explained.
He accepts titles could potentially be removed, but said he would not want United to inherit one.
“I wouldn’t want it because I don’t feel as a team we deserved it that year because we obviously didn’t finish first.”
