Rooney criticises ex-Man United teammates clamouring for Man City’s Premier League titles

Wayne Rooney has distanced himself from former Manchester United teammates calling for the club to be awarded the 2011-12 Premier League title if Manchester City are stripped of the crown.

While Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea have publicly joked about adding another winners’ medal to their collections, Rooney says he would be “uncomfortable” accepting a title his team did not win on the pitch.

City’s verdict over the Premier League’s financial charges has reopened the debate over how their trophy-laden era should be treated, with the possibility of historical titles being affected now attracting plenty of attention.

Rooney was part of the United side that suffered one of the most dramatic title defeats in Premier League history in 2012.

United beat Sunderland 1-0 on the final day, with Rooney scoring the decisive goal, and briefly believed they had done enough to win the championship after City fell 2-1 behind against QPR. However, Edin Dzeko equalised before Sergio Aguero scored his famous stoppage-time winner, handing City the title on goal difference and leaving United devastated.

Despite the subsequent developments surrounding City, Rooney does not believe United deserve to inherit the championship.

“I have heard Rio has come out saying about getting another Premier League medal... I wouldn't really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I'm being honest,” he said on the Stick To United podcast.

“I don't think we deserve it, we didn't do enough that season to win the league. I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.”

Rooney also sympathised with the City players who could potentially lose medals or titles because of actions outside their control.

“I've seen everything that has come out over the past few days and listening to people and I was putting myself in a Man City player's shoes,” Rooney said.

“They're players, they're doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title and in their mind they have done it.”

Rooney acknowledged that City could potentially be stripped of honours but insisted he would not want one added to his own collection.

“It might happen, they might take them [medals] away, but I wouldn't want it [a medal] because I don't think as a team we deserved it that year because obviously we didn't finish first,” he added.

“So when I see team-mates saying ‘I want a medal’, I'm happy with the five I've won. I wouldn't want this one. Should they get it stripped for what the owners have done? Yeah maybe, but I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting it.”

Ferdinand had previously posted, “Another premier league medal to be added to the cabinet,” while De Gea asked on X: “So... Let's talk. How many Premier League titles have I won then?”

Rooney, however, has made his position clear: whatever happens to City’s honours, he does not believe United’s 2011-12 campaign merits being rewritten as a title-winning season.