Wayne Rooney could hardly ignore recent criticism of his place in the Manchester United side.
The Red Devils and England captain has come under fire having been deployed in a number 10 role, as he has been largely ineffective in both attack and midfield.
Given the clamour for him to be dropped, there is actually now a real possibility that he may never equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 249 goals for the club, which he is just three shy of. A year ago, that looked like an inevitability, but now real questions have to be asked over whether he has any future at United.
All this speculation is meaningless, however, because according to Rooney himself, any criticism of his performances is “rubbish”.
That’s what he has told MUTV at least, whether or not he truly believes it.
The 30-year-old has never been the same player since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, and he is certainly not fitting into Jose Mourinho’s system.
Nonetheless, he insists he is still trying to improve and will continue to block out negative attention from the press.
“I listen to my coaches and my team-mates, the people around me, and I don’t really listen to what a lot of people out there are saying because a lot of it is rubbish,” he added.
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