Dimitar Berbatov has tipped one of his former Manchester United teammates to become the manager of the biggest club in English football one day.
Even though Erik ten Hag is under pressure at United after what has been a disappointing second campaign so far for the Dutchman, Rooney has just been sacked by Birmingham City and it would be a stretch to say he’s currently in the spotlight to get the job at Old Trafford.
The Bulgarian does state that he believes managing United is one of Rooney’s dreams – as it is for any aspiring manager looking to the reach the top.
Rooney is now expected to take a break from management to spend more time with his family, while Ten Hag works to turn United’s season around with another cup run still a possibility in the FA Cup after crashing out of Europe and the Carabao Cup in the earlier rounds.
Speaking to The Sun, Berbatov, who spent three years at Old Trafford, has tipped Rooney to be manager of United in the future.
“I do not doubt that he is going to come back and be a manager because I think that’s what he likes to do,” Berbatov said. “I think, ultimately, at one time in the future he would like to be the manager of Manchester United. How he is going to get there is another question.
“I hope he is going to continue to climb that ladder of success in that business to be a manager. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a setback with the Birmingham job. You cannot argue with the numbers though. Losing a lot of games. The team was fifth when he came in, when he was sacked they were 20th. You cannot argue with that.
“Yes, someone can say ‘they did not give him enough time’ but now in today’s football results need to come fast. I hope he will come back stronger and continue on that path to one day be the manager of Man Utd.”
It should go without saying that it is far too early to tip Rooney for the biggest job in football, especially when you look at how his short spell went at Birmingham City. United’s all-time scorer didn’t get a chance to turn things around, but now he will need to prove himself elsewhere if he wants to manage one of the bigger clubs in the Premier League.
Berbatov has other former United team-mates doing well in the managerial world. Take Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough for example.
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By what possible metric can Rooney be considered a successful manager ?Dimitara is making a fool of himself with such comments, if he ever did make it.
I agree Rooney can come back as united manager but not straight into hot seat but as an assistant manager to gain the requisite managerial experience needed at United.