Wayne Rooney at the age of 31 should not be out of the England and Manchester United team. This I believe is mainly due to his lack of desire to be the best. This hasn’t happened to other world class players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. At Manchester United when Ronaldo and Rooney played on the same team, their performances were on par with each other. Now Ronaldo is in another league than Rooney. This is mainly because Ronaldo has dedicated his life to football where as Rooney has fallen off track.
It was a very brave decision for Gareth Southgate to ax Rooney for Jermaine Defoe on Sunday.
Defoe who is three years older than Rooney should not be placed against Rooney. Defoe has not been able to get a game for England for the past five years and with Harry Kane injured Rooney should be the first choice, but his lack of playing time with Manchester United the England has deemed Rooney to be not good enough. Defoe like other players, have made the most out their careers and has looked after himself. For example, Defoe recently gave up meat and dairy to help his game; it appears to be that Rooney just isn’t that bothered anymore.
So why has this happened?
It was only a few months ago he was pictured being drunk in a pub with lots of girls around him. Footballers cannot rely just on natural ability as much as they used to before.
They are expected to be top athletes, and their body needs to be in optimum condition for every game. Otherwise, they will be at a disadvantage.When Rooney was younger, he had a lot of pace and acceleration, and that has seemed to vanish as he has approached his thirties. Players that keep their body in optimum condition such as Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic have lost a bit of pace, but this hasn’t stopped them from being first choice in the team.
They seem to have more desire than Rooney to have the most successful career as possible. Throughout Rooney’s career, there have been times when he was overweight, and his performances have been inconsistent at times most likely because of this. Even today when you look at Rooney in his kit he still doesn't appear to be as fit as all the other players he is up against.
Some people have argued that because he is paid so much money, this has made him lose interest in the game. He has lost the desire he had when he was younger to win trophies, and can't see it happening as he approaches the end of his career. It is a shame that he might think this way as lots of players remain at the top of the game until they reach the late stages of the career.
So what does he need to do now?
If I were him, I would focus more on getting as fit as possible. To lay off the pies and work hard. He needs to seek help from players around his age that have remained at the top of the game. Players such as Ibrahimovic could help him stay focused and become a top player for a club and country again. He needs to think it is never too late to come back and should to show everyone that he still is a top player.
