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Rooney blasted by Paul Parker As ‘overweight, not deserving of a spot’

LONDON — Wayne Rooney is slow, overweight, unable to move his body quickly enough to shoot properly and still playing for Manchester United mainly for marketing reasons, according to Paul Parker, the club’s former defender.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Photo: AP

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Photo: AP

LONDON — Wayne Rooney is slow, overweight, unable to move his body quickly enough to shoot properly and still playing for Manchester United mainly for marketing reasons, according to Paul Parker, the club’s former defender.

In a withering assessment of the United and England captain, Parker believes Rooney faces a “defining season” at Old Trafford and that his “undeserved” place in the team should come under threat from new world-record £89 million (S$155.8 million) signing Paul Pogba.

Rooney moved to within four goals of breaking Bob-by Charlton’s club record tally of 249 with a header in the 3-1 win away to Bournemouth in United’s opening Premier League game of the season on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho, the United manager, said last month that Rooney is “going to be a very important player for me” and that he was “quite surprised with so many question marks around this guy”, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic is confident playing up front with the captain will be “an easy combination”. But Parker, who has been a notable critic of Rooney in the past, does not believe the 30-year-old justifies a starting place any longer and has made the outlandish claim that he is being largely picked because of commercial considerations.

“This is a defining season for Rooney,” Parker, who won two Premier League titles during a five-year stay at United, told 888.com. “It is no longer about him breaking records but finishing his career at United. He needs to show his worth and that he deserves to be in the team and not just because of marketing.

“As much as people appreciate what he’s done over the years and how many goals he’s scored, football is about now and being judged on now. If someone had only heard of Wayne Rooney but seen him now they’d think, ‘Who is this fella? He’s overweight and slow’.”

Parker criticised a weak shot from Rooney against Bournemouth and believes the arrival of Pogba — who is in line to make his debut against Southampton at Old Trafford on Friday (Saturday at 3am, Singapore time) after suspension — should put his position in the team under threat but doubts it will.

“That shot was terrible, and it looks like he can’t move or shift his body quick enough,” Parker said. “With Pogba you do wonder, when you look at his style of play for Juventus, can he play that way for United? If he plays behind Ibrahimovic that puts Wayne Rooney in doubt and Rooney has to play — not that he deserves a place, but they have to play him. So it’s a difficult situation.” the DAILY TELEGRAPH

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