Wayne Rooney has revealed how an exchange with Jose Mourinho ahead of the 2017 League Cup final left him questioning Manchester United’s standards.
Mourinho took charge of United in the summer of 2016, inheriting Rooney as captain and record goalscorer-in-waiting.
The Portuguese coach delivered both the League Cup and the Europa League in his first season, but United’s sixth-place Premier League finish and the atmosphere behind the scenes left mixed feelings.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the 39-year-old recalled an incident before the League Cup final at Wembley against Southampton.
Wayne Rooney and Jose Mourinho spent a year working together at Manchester United
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Rooney, concerned by the appearance of his team-mates, raised the issue directly with his manager.
“I remember we went to the League Cup final and players were wearing the suits with big, bright yellow trainers and stuff like that,” Rooney said.
“I went to Mourinho and said, ‘Listen, I’ve spoken to the players and you need to have a word here and to keep the standards. We can’t have that going to Wembley into a cup final.’”
But Mourinho’s response surprised him.
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“He’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll speak to them.’ And then as we came down to leave, I’ve seen Jose there and he’s got a zip-up top with no tie on.
"I was thinking, ‘What’s the point? Why am I even bothering with this?’ He was more relaxed on it.
"I think now it’s just wear what you want and they have phones, caps, whatever, trainers with suits.”
For Rooney, the issue went beyond footwear.
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Manchester United beat Southampton 3-2 in the 2017 EFL Cup final, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring twice
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It symbolised what he saw as a decline in the professional culture that had been drilled into him under Sir Alex Ferguson.
During the Scot’s reign, players were required to wear official club suits for matches, whether or not they were in the squad.
“Whereas at United, it was really professional and everyone, even if you’re not in the squad, would be in the club suits. It looked really professional, and it’s gone now,” Rooney added.
He noted the contrast with Mourinho’s previous Chelsea sides, admitting he thought those strutting their stuff at Stamford Bridge could look 'scruffy'.
“When you used to look at Chelsea, if you looked at the players who weren’t in the squad, they were on the bench and they were all in their own clothes, and I thought it looked a bit scruffy," he admitted.
Rooney played 13 years at Old Trafford, scoring a club-record 253 goals and winning five Premier League titles under Ferguson.
He believes the traditions around standards of dress were part of what set United apart.
“I just always think United looked really professional,” he said.
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Wayne Rooney won five Premier League titles during his spell at Manchester United
| PAAfter Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, those standards were inconsistently applied.
Louis van Gaal insisted on suits during his tenure, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reintroduced the requirement within his first month in charge in 2019 to reconnect with Ferguson-era values.
But under Mourinho, and more recently under current boss Ruben Amorim, the approach has been far more relaxed.
Today, players frequently arrive in tracksuits, while managers wear casual clothing on the touchline.