Wayne Rooney has rejected the idea of Manchester City being stripped of Premier League titles as punishment for their guilty verdict on financial charges, saying it would be unfair to the players who earned those victories.
The former England captain was part of the United squad that lost the 2011-12 title to City on goal difference after Sergio Agüero’s last-minute winner. Yet Rooney said he would not be comfortable accepting a retroactive medal even now. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I’m being honest, because I don’t think we deserve it,” he told the Stick to United podcast. “We didn’t do enough that season to win the league.”
Rooney argued that stripping titles would punish the players unfairly. “I’m thinking as their players, they’re doing everything they can to win the Premier League title and in their minds they’ve done it. And 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.”
He does believe City require severe sanctions if ultimately found guilty. “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,” Rooney said.
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