![\"Wayne](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1_Arsenal-FC-v-Real-Madrid-CF-UEFA-Champions-League-202425-Quarter-Final-First-Leg.jpg\")
Wayne Rooney and Tom Brady battle it out(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nThe seven-time Superbowl-winning quarterback sparks transatlantic tiff between two of sports’ biggest names when he admits in new telly shock doc he’s ‘worried\u2019 about Rooney\u2019s ‘lackadaisical\u2019 approach<\/p>\n
21:00, 31 Jul 2025Updated 21:07, 31 Jul 2025<\/p>\n
Wayne Rooney and Tom Brady battle it out(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Fuming football fans told NFL G.O.A.T Tom Brady<\/a> to \u2018stay in his lane\u2019 after he blasted England legend Wayne Rooney<\/a>\u2019s \u2018work ethic\u2019.<\/p>\n The quarterback – hailed the Greatest Of All Time in the US after winning seven Super Bowls<\/a> – sparked a transatlantic tiff between two of the biggest names in sport when he admitted in a new telly shock doc he was \u2018worried\u2019 about Rooney\u2019s \u2018lackadaisical\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n The slur came during the ex-Manchester United <\/a>striker\u2019s ill-fated 83-day stint as manager of Birmingham City – of which Brady is part owner.<\/p>\n In five-part fly-on-the-wall Amazon Prime documentary Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues the 47-year-old quarterback tried to school the ex-Manchester United striker on his training routine.<\/p>\n Brady told Rooney: \u201cI treated practice like it was the Super Bowl. Every practice we\u2019d do a two minute drill at the end of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI would throw a touchdown, at practice, and stand there being like,\u2019f***, we won the game\u2019 even though it was practice, you know?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then my team mates were like, \u2018f***, that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to do it, this is real, make them earn everything\u2019.\u201d After a pause Rooney replied: \u201cBut no, they\u2019re a good group of lads to be fair.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly afterwards Brady told his business manager Ben Rawitz: \u201cI\u2019m a little worried about our head coach\u2019s work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n Rawitz replied: \u201cComes across as lackadaisical.\u201d<\/p>\n The exchange happened as Brady drove away after visiting Birmingham\u2019s training ground to observe one of Rooney’s team meetings and training sessions during his 2023 tenure.<\/p>\n Rooney, 39, was sacked after the team managed just two wins in his 15 matches in charge.<\/p>\n At the end of the season the club was relegated to League One.<\/p>\n But angry fans blasted the American hero for criticising Manchester United<\/a> \u2019s record all-time goalscorer who won Champions and Europa Leagues, five Premier Leagues, four League Cups and an FA and FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> in a glittering 19-year playing career.<\/p>\n Rooney, who remains England\u2019s second highest goalscorer with 53 in 120 appearances and played in the finals of three World Cups, has recently signed an \u00a3800,000 deal to be a BBC Match Of The Day pundit for the next two seasons.<\/p>\n One fan said Brady\u2019s slur \u2018sounds like an anti-Ted Lasso\u2019 – the fictional US manager hailed a hero after taking over AFC Richmond despite knowing nothing about soccer in the smash hit TV comedy.<\/p>\n An American fan commented online: \u201cI think Brady needs to stay in his lane.\u201d<\/p>\n Another supporter said: \u201cBrady wouldn\u2019t know a football if it landed on his plate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe calls the game \u2018soccer\u2019 – that\u2019s all I need to say,\u201d added another.<\/p>\n One more said: \u201cWTF does Tom Brady know about the game of football (not American football) Rooney may have his faults for sure but I don\u2019t think being lackadaisical is one of them! Rooney was a stupid selection to be their manager.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can say lots about Rooney but to question his work ethic is nonsense,\u201d added another.<\/p>\n One more added: \u201cFunny Brady comparing himself to any footballer. He couldn’t run their speed, their distance nor had he ever experienced a session of 90 minutes harassment by opposition players and fans. NFL is a different sport with its own challenges, but compared to football, he stood around for 99 per cent of the game and threw a ball when it was his turn. That’s it. Dedication my ass.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone else said: \u201cAn NFL season is 18 weeks long and 17 games. The average time the ball is in play in the NFL is only about 12 minutes so which sport has the poor work ethic?\u201d<\/p>\n One local suggested Brady could prove his dedication by helping empty the rubbish in a city crippled by bin strikes.<\/p>\n They said: \u201cDoes Brady need a job on the bins to demonstrate his work ethic?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBrady should travel and stand with away supporters for a few weeks when they are on a losing streak and then he’ll know what commitment is,\u201d added another.<\/p>\n But some suggested the American had a point.<\/p>\n One wrote: \u201cBrady along with other greats were known for their hard word and discipline much like CR7. I am British and I know Americans work a lot harder than us and have a bigger drive – a winning mentality. We don\u2019t need to be insecure or defensive. We can be honest with ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Others suggested Rooney was one of many great players who do not necessarily make successful managers.<\/p>\n One said: \u201cMany top ex-players are not cut out to be managers. It\u2019s a completely different skill set than being a player. They think being a top pro player having been managed by great managers and experience what they do they automatically think they can manage.<\/p>\n \u201cManagement of people running a club on the field and planning strategies for short to long term growth and success takes skill and 24\/7 dedication. I don\u2019t see Rooney as a manager. I see him as a coach at best.\u201d.<\/p>\n Another wrote: \u201cHell of a player but like so many wannabe managers who have had brilliant football careers – for example R Keane, Shearer, Souness, Gascoigne, Barnes to name – all failed. Why are so many managers who weren’t great players successful? Because they know the game but couldn’t play it but know how to teach it.\u201d<\/p>\n One joker added: \u201cYou can see the hard work Rooney puts in when eating pies.\u201d<\/p>\n Rooney\u2019s representatives had not responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The seven-time Superbowl-winning quarterback sparks transatlantic tiff between two of sports’ biggest names when he admits in new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[324,1641,192,855,1205,748,393,12632,4884,423,22138,8160,16,15,14349,1514],"class_list":{"0":"post-308300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-amazon","9":"tag-amazon-prime","10":"tag-bbc","11":"tag-birmingham","12":"tag-birmingham-city-fc","13":"tag-britain","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-england-football-team","16":"tag-great-britain","17":"tag-manchester-united-fc","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-tom-brady","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-wayne-rooney","23":"tag-world-cup"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114951559316921047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Rooney](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Middlesbrough-v-Birmingham-City-Sky-Bet-Championship.jpg\")
Rooney remains England\u2019s second highest goalscorer(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Philadelphia-Eagles-v-New-England-Patriots.jpg\")
The exchange happened as Brady drove away after visiting Birmingham\u2019s training ground(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Roo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Image.jpg\")
Roo will win?(Image: Daily Star)<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Birmingham-City-FC-v-Wrexham-AFC-Sky-Bet-League-One.jpg\")
But some suggested the American had a point (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Southampton-FC-v-Birmingham-City-Sky-Bet-Championship.jpg\")
People were quick to have their say(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n