12 October 2023 , 16:49
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New Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney has spoken about the conversation he had with co-owner Tom Brady.
Rooney was appointed as manager of Birmingham on Wednesday, with the England legend signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. It will be Rooney’s third job in senior football management, after previously having roles at Derby County and DC United.
The 37-year-old only left his position as manager of DC United on Saturday by mutual consent. The Major League Soccer club had just beaten New York City 2-0 before it was announced that Rooney would be leaving the club with immediate effect.
Rooney had been in charge of DC since July 2022, having returned to the MLS club where he was previously employed as a player. The former Manchester United striker has now returned to England and will now be managing in the Championship, where he will be assisted by former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole and his former Man United teammate John O’Shea.
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As part of the appointment, Rooney will now be working with Brady, a former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, as well as an NFL legend. The future Hall of Famer became a minority owner with Birmingham in August, having entered a partnership with the club’s majority owners, Knighthead Capital Management LLC.
Rooney gave his first press conference as the new manager of Birmingham on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, the former striker has revealed talks he's had with Brady, and why he is excited at the prospect of working alongside the NFL great.
“I have spoken to Tom, he is very ambitious to move this club forward,” Rooney told reporters on Thursday, via . “It’s great to have him here, it’s important for the players to see Tom Brady have an involvement. It’s very clear that Tom is fully involved in the club.”
Rooney added: “For myself to get into English football is great, I have had opportunities at other clubs in the last six weeks to do that. “Seeing where Birmingham want to get to excited me. Everything we spoke about was very similar. It was a really easy decision once I spoke to them.”
As part of Brady’s arrival, the former quarterback has become the chairman of a new advisory board within the club. Brady has already been in attendance at St Andrew's to watch Birmingham in action in the Championship.