Wayne Rooney said Manchester United did not "deserve" to win the 2011/12 Premier League title and that he would feel "uncomfortable" accepting a championship medal even if Manchester City's title for that season were stripped away.

Rooney's former Manchester United teammates Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea had previously called publicly for the Premier League championship medals from the 2011/12 season to be added to their collections. It has been reported that the vast majority of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League against Manchester City have been upheld.

This explosive verdict has sparked intense debate: how should Manchester City's dominant period from 2009 to 2018 be reassessed? Players, fans, and managers alike are calling for this history to be rewritten.

Yet Manchester United legend Rooney insists that even if Manchester City's title is stripped, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United team of 2011/12 should still not receive the highest honour.

On the "Stick to Football" show, Rooney said: "I heard Rio come out and say he wanted another Premier League medal... Honestly, if that were the case, I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal.

I don't believe we deserved it. That season, we didn't do enough to win the league. I remember we had a six or seven-point lead with four or five games remaining, but we ended up throwing it away.

I've seen and heard a lot over the past few days about what's happened. I put myself in the shoes of a Manchester City player... they're just players, and they'll do their best to win the Premier League. In their hearts, they've already done that. If those players had no idea what was happening at the top level of the club, if that happened to me... I'd be absolutely devastated.

It's possible this could happen, that their medals are taken away, but I don't want that medal because I don't believe we deserved it as a team. After all, we didn't finish first that year.

So when I see my former teammates saying, 'I want a medal,' I'm already satisfied—I've won five Premier League titles. I don't want this one. Should their titles be stripped because of what the club's owners did? Yes, perhaps. But I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting that medal."

In the final match of the 2011/12 Premier League season, Rooney scored a header in Manchester United's away game against Sunderland, helping the team to a 1-0 victory.

As the match at the Stadium of Light ended, Manchester City were trailing 1-2 at home against Queens Park Rangers. With Manchester United having already secured three points, Manchester City needed a win to claim the title.

But just minutes later, Dzeko equalized, and then Agüero scored the famous late winner that secured the title for Manchester City, leaving Manchester United's players devastated on the pitch.

Other former Manchester United teammates of Rooney have also commented on the upcoming verdict.

David De Gea was also part of the Manchester United team that missed out on the 2012 title and later won the Premier League runners-up medal with the team in the 2017/18 season. De Gea wrote on social media: "So... let's talk about this. How many Premier League titles have I actually won?"

Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, wrote: "Adding another Premier League medal to my trophy collection."

Übersetzt von KI.

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