EPL: Rooney admits he was embarrassed playing under Mourinho at Manchester United

Wayne Rooney has admitted his final days at Manchester United were “embarrassing”, as he slowly realised he was falling out of Jose Mourinho’s first-team plans.

Rooney, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, says failure to start either the League Cup final or the Europa League final in the 2016/2017 season, convinced him that his time at Old Trafford was up.

Although having a bit-part role in Mourinho’s squad, Rooney remained the captain.

However, his reduced status in the squad meant he was “embarrassed” to lift the cups.

He told Sky Sports: “I came on for one minute in the Europa League final. I was about to come on against Southampton in the League Cup final, and in those moments it was embarrassing.

“It was getting to a point where I was embarrassed. I thought “I can’t keep doing this”, as hard as it was to leave United.

“In the Southampton game, [manager Jose] Mourinho came to me and said: “I want you to lift the trophy.” I was like: “Well, I didn’t even play in the game.”

“He was persistent with it, and I literally lifted it and moved it on. What was I doing? I need to move on and go somewhere else.”