Graeme Souness has picked out Wayne Rooney as a top football pundit, but admits he turns the sound down when he hears other people speak about football.
The Liverpool legend was a fixture on Sky Sports as a pundit for over 15 years before he left the role at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Like most pundits, the 72-year-old split opinion, with some fans enjoying his old school, no nonsense vibe while others welcomed a different approach.
Souness has his favourites too, with Rooney standing out for him, while others do not have the ‘common sense’ and ‘authority’ of the former Manchester United and England forward.
‘I like listening to Wayne Rooney as a pundit because he talks common sense,’ said Souness, courtesy of SkyBet.
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‘If you’re putting together an all-time Manchester United team, Wayne Rooney is one of the first names on the sheet – he was a real warrior.
‘I love Wayne Rooney as a player, and I like to listen to him – he has got authority so I can listen to him.
‘Some of the other pundits, I turn the sound down.’
Rooney riles Reds star
Rooney has already ruffled some feathers in his short time as a pundit so far, annoying Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk with comments on his leadership.
The 40-year-old said on The Wayne Rooney Show in October: ‘Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season.
‘I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else. I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.’
Van Dijk responded, saying: ‘I didn’t hear him last year.
‘It doesn’t hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.’
The pair then had a slightly awkward exchange live on TNT Sports after Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the Champions League, but Rooney has since rowed back on his comments, suggesting he was wrong on part of them.
‘My job now is to give my opinions, and I like to think I’m straight and honest with my opinions and how I feel,’ Rooney said on The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet.
‘The one thing where I maybe went a bit too strong is where I said he’s downed tools since he signed his new contract – that’s a big thing to say, and maybe I was wrong on that.
‘But from a performance level, from what we’ve seen from Van Dijk, I don’t think he’s been at that level this season, and I said I’m sure as captain he’d be speaking to players, taking them out for food, which he said he has done. Clearly if he’s felt he’s done that, if he had to do that, there’s something not right.
‘As champions, you can’t lose four games in a row. If you lose one game, there’s questions, and if you lose four in a row, there’s something not quite right.
‘I think getting involved too much in the outside noise – that’s our job [as pundits], focus on your game. As a younger player, I’d be looking at Van Dijk and how he reacts to this – how is it going to help them? You have to get on with your game and speak internally.’