Wayne Rooney criticized Tom Brady for his “unfair” remarks about his commitment during his unfortunate tenure as Birmingham City boss. The former Manchester United star had a short stint at the Championship Club in the 2023/24 campaign. His reign lasted only 15 games before he was fired by an American-owned group.
Even before his departure, some owner Brady had brought some pointy criticism. In the Amazon Prime series Brady & The Blues: Birmingham City, it was shown that NFL legend is telling his business manager Ben Rawitz. Rawitz replied: “I come across it like I’m feeling sick.” This week, Rooney published these comments for the first time. Speaking about Wayne Rooney’s show, he said: “I think it was a very unfair comment. When I went to Birmingham, they were really confused. So the fact that the players weren’t really the players who could push the club forward.
“We knew that, so I think Tom would come in once.
“But what he understands is that he is hardworking, so we know that he’s really disappointed with the comments because football isn’t the NFL – the NFL works for three months a year, so players need rest too.
“Listen, I have a great respect for Tom Brady. He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete of all time, and it looks like Birmingham is getting it now.
“What they did was when I was there, I had Tony Mowbley, Gary Lowett, which both you and I struggled with, so I think they got the players they needed to leave… But yeah, it’s a bit disappointing, but it’s not that serious.”
After the Rooney exit, Birmingham fell to League One but quickly secured a promotion under Chris Davis. Since then, the fate of Rooney’s own management has followed another early layoff from Plymouth Argyle after just 25 games. He has not yet returned to management and has a career as a card critic after agreeing to take part in the match that day.
Meanwhile, Birmingham launched its 2025/26 Championship campaign in a 1-1 draw against Ipswich, who was kicked out of the Premier League last season. On Wednesday, they registered their first victory of the season with a knock over Sheffield United from the Carabao Cup to win 2-1.
