Some Manchester United players have told the club's former stars to ease up on the criticism of the club's current performance.
United's end-of-season malaise has corresponded with the release of a new Amazon Prime documentary focusing on the club's historic 1998/99 season, with many of the stars of the era attending the premiere last week.
A number of them, including Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, took the opportunity to express negative opinions on the current squad, and the recent addition of Wayne Rooney to the Sky Sports team hasn't helped matters.
At the weekend, Rooney suggested that some players are using injuries as an excuse avoid playing, and he has also joined the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane in criticising the current team during recent episodes of the Stick To Football podcast.
According to The Athletic journalist Andy Mitten, a man with his finger on the pulse of all things United, Red Devils stars have made contact with ex-pros to let them know that their comments are not appreciated.
"There's a lot of problems at the club" 🗣
Rooney says he hopes Man Utd give Ten Hag more time ⏳ pic.twitter.com/IQCSDj4DHG— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 12, 2024
Man United players call out former stars
"The players don’t like criticism from those who won the Treble and have told some of them so in recent weeks," writes Mitten in a piece published earlier this week.
"There are two sides to this, since pundits are paid to tell it how it is and would look like partisan apologists if they soft-pedalled."
Mitten went on to elaborate in the latest episode of The Athletic's Talk of The Devils podcast, which was recorded after United's 3-2 victory Newcastle on Wednesday, a result which ended a three-match winless run.
In, it he specifically mentions captain Bruno Fernandes as someone who has made his feelings known to the former stars.
"Bruno has been really irritated by former players criticising the team and has told some of them so in recent weeks," Mitten says.
"There are two sides to that. Ex-players are supposed to tell it like it is but they just feel like they're getting hammered all the time."
🆕 TALK OF THE DEVILS recorded at Old Trafford with @AndyMitten & @Ankaman616 after United’s 3-2 over Newcastle. Including…
🔴 FERNANDES FUTURE
⚪️ AWARDS CANCELLED
⚫️ SALVAGING EUROPE
& much more @TheAthleticFC #MUFChttps://t.co/M1Vi4CYARo— Ian Irving (@ianirving_) May 16, 2024
Wayne Rooney can "back up" claims
Another interesting note in Mitten's piece regarded the comments Rooney made about players faking injuries, and according to the journalist, the former captain "didn’t say that off the top of his head" and "would be able to back it up if needed."
The dark mood around Old Trafford was lifted somewhat with that win over Newcastle and if United manage to go on to beat Man City in the FA Cup final, you'd expect that even their army of former-players-turned-pundits would give credit where credit is due.
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