Wayne Rooney’s player advocacy proving there’s more to him than meets the eye

Wayne Rooney has spoken up recently about issues facing players amid the coronavirus shutdown, showing there’s more than meets the eye in the English veteran.

By his own admission, Wayne Rooney has never possessed the sharpest soccer mind. As England and Manchester United’s all-time top goalscorer, his talent should not be understated, but he has always been someone who plays on instinct. Positional discipline and in-game problem solving has never really been his thing.

Unfairly, though, many equate that to a lack of general intelligence. It doesn’t help that Rooney often speaks in the sort of cliches and soundbites that are drilled into elite level soccer players from a young age, but more recently the 34-year-old, now winding down his career at Derby County and liberated by being out of the spotlight somewhat, has demonstrated a wit few thought he had.

Rooney used his Sunday Times column last week to hit out at Matt Hancock after the UK Government’s health secretary publicly put soccer players in a “no-win situation,” as the forward put it, over the coronavirus pandemic and their perceived failure to help out society in its time of crisis.

“Why are footballers suddenly the scapegoats?” he wrote, also amplifying the opinion of his fellow players by scrutinizing the role the Professional Footballers’ Association has played in this public pressuring of players trying to come up with something more comprehensive than just taking a pay cut to help out their billionaire employers. “Why? It feels as if it’s to shame the players – to force them into a corner where they have to pick up the bill for lost revenue.”

He previously used the column to question why players were treated like “guinea pigs” before the decision was made to suspend the season.

This wasn’t the first time Rooney had revealed rather more beneath the surface of his deadpan exterior. The former Man Utd striker made an appearance on Sky Sports’ ‘Monday Night Football’ show two years ago, surprising many with his capability in forensically analyzing a match. He was articulate and insightful, demonstrating a side that few had seen of him.

The TV studio suited Rooney, although he’ll be hoping to use these qualities to his advantage as a manager instead, taking on his first coaching role at Derby County earlier this year. It seems inevitable that he will sooner or later follow the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and other members of England’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ into the management arena.

Lampard provided a heads up on Rooney years ago, suggesting there is more to the man that meets the eye. “People who call him thick… it’s a lazy thing to say,” the then-Chelsea midfielder said back in 2010. “They look at him, the fact he is a footballer and looks tough, and make a judgment without trying to find out what he is really like.”

It might only be now that Rooney’s true nature as more than just an operator of instincts is being revealed.