Rooney calls Man Utd players "selfish" and "babies"

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney described the club's current squad as "babies" and "selfish". The criticism targets the embarrassing collapse in the Champions League and Bruno Fernandes' public comments about head coach Michael Carrick.

Carrick's team sit 13th in the Premier League. If they get a poor result in their home match against Bournemouth on Sunday, they could slip into the relegation zone. Internal divisions at the club throughout the season and the league's worst start have made Carrick's position even more difficult.

A 4-1 defeat away to Como on Wednesday increased criticism of the head coach. Captain Fernandes criticised the tactical choices after the match and said the team needed to be more "brave". Defender Lisandro Martinez, meanwhile, accused the board last week of not investing enough in the transfer market.

Rooney, the club's all-time leading scorer, said he viewed the performance against Como with "shock" and "disbelief". The former forward, a close friend and former teammate of Carrick, placed direct responsibility on the players. Speaking on The United Stand podcast, Rooney said he had expected Martinez's comments to split the dressing room, that it had started with Fernandes' remarks, and that other players would show similar attitudes.

Rooney argued that the players did not want to take responsibility and that their attitude towards the group was selfish. In his view, the players were not thinking about their teammates, the coaching staff or the fans, only about themselves. He said they behaved like babies when it suited them and passed the blame onto others.