Wayne Rooney recalls one of his worst bust-ups with Sir Alex Ferguson

Wayne Rooney’s relationship with Manchester United turned into a complicated one during the latter stages of his career at Old Trafford.

Allegations of trying to force a move away tarnished Rooney’s reputation for some reds, despite him being the clubs all-time leading scorer.

On the whole though, few would look back on his time there as anything other than a resounding success.

That being said, it comes as no surprise that Sir Alex and his star striker didn’t always see eye-to-eye in the dressing room.

In his new Sunday Times column, Rooney revealed that the manager regularly targeted him, knowing it would get the best out of his player.

“The best way to motivate me? Confrontation. I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been a bit angrier,” Rooney said.

“Fergie knew exactly what I needed. I’d say 90 per cent of the games I played under him we were arguing at half-time.”

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The attacker went on to discuss one instance where things got really bad between the pair – though Ferguson had his own way of signalling that the disagreement was over.

“I never got used to [Ferguson targeting him]. I used to think, ‘I’m playing well, he’ll have a go at someone else today.’ And it would be me again. Portsmouth was the worst one. It got really bad.

“This was at half-time. I went back out and scored a hat-trick. I remember sitting on the coach thinking, ‘I’ve gone too far there.'”

“But the good thing about him [is] he’d go to the toilet in the coach or to get a coffee and walk past you on the way back and just, like, slap you on the back of the head. That was his way of saying, ‘The argument is gone.’ He never carried grudges.”

Relive the good old days and watch Rooney’s five greatest goals in a United shirt.

Featured image credit: Getty