Wayne Rooney has suggested he was unhappy not to be selected by the BBC to cover any of England's games at Euro 2024. The Three Lions' former record goalscorer is ditching his pundit role in Germany to return home and get down to work with his new club, Plymouth Argyle.
Rooney confirmed that his TV role had reached its conclusion after Belgium's goalless draw with Ukraine on Wednesday. It means the 38-year-old will fly back to England without having covering any of the Three Lions' matches.
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And he made it clear during an appearance on the Football Daily podcast that he wasn't entirely pleased with the matches assigned to him. "It's been OK," he said. "Obviously, it's different and new to what I've been used to.
"I've done TV in the past but [I've] spent quite a bit of time here, so yeah it's been a bit different but I've enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I haven't had any of the England games to talk about really and the games I've done haven't been the greatest, but it's nice to spend some time here."
The BBC showed two of England's group games but Rooney was left out of the pundit line-up on both occasions. The former striker is widely considered to be one of the nation's greatest ever players, finishing his international career with 53 goals in 120 appearances.
For England's opening game against Serbia, BBC host Gary Lineker was joined by Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards and ex-Spain star Cesc Fabregas. For the Denmark game; Lineker, Richards and Ferdinand were joined by Brentford's Danish manager Thomas Frank.
Rooney is days away from welcoming his new Plymouth squad to pre-season training. Since hanging up his boots in 2021, Manchester United's record goalscorer has had spells in charge of Derby County, D.C. United and Birmingham City.
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While none of his jobs have lasted more than two years, Rooney maintains the aim of managing either United or another of his former clubs, Everton, within the next decade.
"Managing Manchester United or Everton is the aim," he told Match of the Day earlier this year. "These big jobs are where you want to get to. But it's a process. I have got to go through the steps and get myself back on track."
