Rooney reveals pre-match phone call with Carrick ahead of Birmingham City bow

20 October 2023 , 05:43

683     0

Wayne Rooney was recently unveiled as the new Birmingham City manager (Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

Wayne Rooney thought so much of Michael Carrick that he insisted on lifting the FA Cup with him.

The former Manchester United great only has one FA Cup triumph on his otherwise glittering CV - but when the moment came for him to raise the trophy he wanted to share it with his Old Trafford pal. The two spent 11 seasons together as Manchester United team-mates, winning pretty much everything they could.

Tomorrow they find themselves in different dug-outs - Carrick at Middlesbrough, Rooney with new club Birmingham City. The pressure to win is the same but their ability to directly influence matters - out on the pitch - is no more. What does remain, however, is the bond forged by shared glory and a deep friendship.

‌Rooney said: “I spoke to Michael last week. We’re good friends, our children are good friends. We’ve got some special memories from playing together. We lifted the FA Cup together as captain and vice-captain. I was the captain. But it could have been the other way around.

“We really worked together. Not just as team-mates - but stuff off the pitch - we were a duo. We bounced things off each other. That was the reason why, when Manchester United won the FA Cup in 2016 - a competition I’d never won - we lifted the trophy together.

Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash

“As captain, I initiated it. But Michael said: ‘No, you’re captain, you lift it,’ but there was no way I was lifting it without him. At the time, it was the one we hadn’t won. Then we went on to win the Europa League as well. Mind you, I kept it that night. I left with my two elder boys.

“We had an after-party. When that finished, I sneaked into their room and put it between the two of them in bed. When they woke up, they were looking at the FA Cup.”

Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney won a number of trophies together at Manchester United (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney with the Europa League trophy in 2017 (John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

‌Rooney said that he thought Carrick would go into management after he was part of a group of senior players that used to sit around and discuss tactics at Carrington.‌ He said: “Michael’s an intelligent guy. I spoke to him before he went into the job at Middlesbrough. We had a conversation and we both felt it was a good chance for him to go into management on his own after his time coaching at Manchester United. I think he’s done a really good job.

‌"A few of us used to chat about management - especially when we were nearing the end of our careers. I remember sitting down with Ryan Giggs when Louis Van Gaal was manager - we were analysing the opposition.

“I used to sit in there with Giggsy and asking each other questions and bouncing ideas off each other as well. I think when you know you want to go into it, you start looking at the details of it a bit more.

“Michael is one where I know what his mindset will be. I want to beat him. He will want to beat me. I certainly don’t want to see him smiling at 4.45-5pm on Saturday. He’ll be thinking exactly the same. I’m representing Birmingham. He’s representing Middlesbrough. We both want to win. It’s just the way it is.”

Neil Moxley