Rooney Rejects Man Utd Claim to Man City’s Titles Despite Financial Verdict

Wayne Rooney says Manchester United should not be awarded Premier League titles retrospectively if Manchester City are stripped of them following their financial rule breaches.

City were found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League. The charges cover the period between 2009-10 and 2017-18, while the club was also accused of failing to cooperate with the league's investigation between December 2018 and February 2023.

Manchester City are expected to appeal the verdict, while the punishment has yet to be announced. One possible sanction could see the club stripped of some of the Premier League titles they won during the period covered by the charges.

Rooney was part of the Manchester United team that finished second behind City in the 2011-12 season, but the former England captain says he would not want to receive the title if it were later taken away from City.

"I wouldn't feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I'm being honest, because I don't think we deserve it," Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast.

"We didn't do enough that season to win the league.

"I'm thinking as their players, they're there doing everything they can to win the Premier League title and in their minds they've done it.

"And, if those players have got no understanding of what's going on above them, then if that happened to me - if all of a sudden Manchester United have been doing the same and I'm getting my Premier League medals taken away from me - I'd be absolutely devastated."

Rooney added that he would not want to be given a medal simply because City were later punished.

"They might take them away but I wouldn't want it because I don't feel as a team we deserved it that year because we obviously didn't finish first," he said.

Manchester United players Rio Ferdinand and David de Gea have both suggested on social media that they should be awarded retrospective titles following City's verdict.

Rooney, however, said he was happy with the five Premier League titles he won during his career and did not want another one under those circumstances.

"When I've heard of ex-team-mates and people saying, 'we've won another medal', I'm happy with the five I've won," he said.

"I wouldn't want this one just sat there... 15 years later or whatever it was you get a medal because City cheated. I wouldn't feel comfortable.

"The question is, would I want to receive that medal for finishing second? No.

"Some players might. I just wouldn't feel comfortable for accepting a Premier League medal for finishing second."

Despite his position on retrospective titles, Rooney believes City could face relegation as part of their punishment.

"I do think we're going to see City getting relegated," the 40-year-old said. "However that happens I don't know but I think we're going to see them get relegated."

Rooney said he would go further than a Championship punishment and suggested City could be placed in a lower division with spending restrictions.

"I'd put them in the lowest league they can go in and then put restrictions on them in terms of how much money they can spend for the next three or four seasons," he said.

"If you're just putting them in the Championship, and I get that's a massive punishment, they're going to come back up. Where, I feel if they have got restrictions... League Two, whatever... that could be very difficult for them.

"For instance, if they got a 20-point deduction for the next three years then players won't want to stay there. If it's Championship for a season, you could talk players round.

"I'd go as big as I can really."

Former Premier League manager Mauricio Pochettino has also criticised the impact of the case, saying clubs that followed the rules may have been put at a disadvantage.

"We have lived through a period of deception," Pochettino said.

"Whatever punishment [they choose], it's impossible to turn back time.

"It's done a lot of damage. Many clubs followed the rules and some didn't."

Pochettino, who managed Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea during the period covered by City's charges, questioned how the alleged breaches were allowed to continue.

"Where were the controls?" he said. "That's what gets my attention. Where were the controls?"

Pochettino also recalled Tottenham's financial restrictions during his time at the club, including an 18-month period when they did not make a transfer.

"They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that's why I say: it's all very strange," he said.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has also called for the strongest punishment available under Premier League rules.

"In my opinion, the most severe sanction provided for under the Premier League regulations should be applied," Tebas told BBC Sport.

"Given the number of years involved, the repeated breaches, the denial and the lack of co-operation, the most severe sanction allowed under the Premier League rules is what should be imposed, although I do not know exactly what that sanction would be."

Manchester City were charged in February 2023 after a four-year Premier League investigation. The case was then referred to an independent commission, with a behind-closed-doors hearing beginning in September 2024 and lasting about 12 weeks.

Premier League clubs are also seeking legal advice over possible compensation claims following the verdict.