Wayne Rooney admits he would ‘walk’ to Manchester City to work with Pep Guardiola

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has admitted that he would ‘walk’ to Manchester City, if an opportunity to work alongside Pep Guardiola presented itself.

The 38-year-old is currently without work in top-level football management having been sacked by Birmingham City back in January after winning just twice in 15 matches, and leaving the club in 20th position in the Championship.

While Rooney himself is still very keen on a return to football management, despite disappointment over his time at St Andrews’s, some are wondering whether time spent as an assistant to an elite level coach could benefit the England legend.

That was the topic of conversation for Rooney this week as he spoke with Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher, and Jill Scott on The Overlap’s ‘Stick To Football’ podcast.

“It depends (on whether I’d ever be an assistant) – if Pep Guardiola comes in and asks me to be his assistant, you’d walk there (Manchester City),” Wayne Rooney admitted.

“You see what (Mikel) Arteta is doing now (at Arsenal) and I strongly believe a lot of that is from learning what Guardiola was doing, and so it depends on what the situation is.”

Wayne Rooney continued, “For me, the best manager is Pep (Guardiola) and you look at how he adapts – how they (Manchester City) are playing now is not the same as how they were playing four years ago.

“He keeps making these subtle changes and then you see everyone else trying to do the same. They also work harder than anyone else.”

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have seen a number of their assistant coaches depart the club during the Catalan’s tenure at the Etihad Stadium since 2016, as rival clubs look to capitalise on the 53-year-old’s depth of knowledge in the game.

As well as Mikel Arteta’s departure for now-Premier League title rivals Arsenal, the likes of Enzo Maresca have also left Pep Guardiola, with the Italian now leading Leicester City to what looks like Championship glory and subsequent promotion into the English top-flight.

But players who have worked under Guardiola have also showcased their learning under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach, with Vincent Kompany now plying his trade as manager of Burnley in the Premier League.