Rooney unloads on Manchester United after Bournemouth rout: "They need a rocket up their backside"

Wayne Rooney held nothing back. After watching Manchester United fall 3-0 to Bournemouth at Old Trafford and slide down to 16th place in the Premier League, the club's all-time leading scorer came out and said what plenty of people in the stands were already thinking.

He did it on the Disney+ podcast Stick to United, and he didn't mince his words: according to Rooney, United's players "need a rocket up their backside" and someone needs to remind them what it means to wear that shirt. Harsh, sure, but that's what he said.

The context doesn't help. Manager Michael Carrick arrived early Tuesday at the Carrington training ground with his future up in the air, and it was only confirmed around midday that he'll stay in charge for Saturday's trip to Chelsea. Meanwhile, Rooney, who won five Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League with this same club, chose to put the focus not just on the manager, but squarely on the dressing room.

"The players don't have anything to complain about. What's not fair is the performances they're putting in," Rooney said. And he went further, describing what he saw from the stands:

I looked at the fans, you could see the pain and anger on their faces as those players walked around the pitch. You see Martinez getting run past by Rayan, they don't get to the ball, it's so frustrating.Wayne Rooney

Rooney also pictured himself walking into the dressing room to confront them directly, asking if they truly believe they deserve to wear that shirt. He spoke of players who seem "numb," without emotion, as if it didn't matter to them, though he made clear some of them "are good lads" being dragged down by the group.

A team "a million miles" from the required standard

For the former striker, today's United is, at best, a mid-table team, and not even that: mid-table teams at least run, press, and get the basics right. "These players think they're better than they actually are," he said bluntly.

Rooney also took aim at the club's sporting planning. He believes Carrick's strong start, which had the team sitting in third place at one point, created a false sense of security among both the players and the board, who started thinking they were in the mix for a top-four finish when in reality they were nowhere close.

On the transfers, he was just as blunt: he questioned the amount of money spent on midfield and said believing the current starting eleven can take the club to another level is, in his words, "living in cloud cuckoo land." Even so, he showed some understanding toward Carrick, who he felt had been "left out to dry" by a squad that, according to Rooney, completely let him down despite his efforts on the touchline.