Revealed: The real reason behind Wayne Rooney’s omission from Europa League sqaud
Sep 16, 2016 at 3:00 PM
Four games into the new season and the captain of the team is omitted from the squad for an important clash to avoid tiredness. That definitely rings an alarm.
Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney was not included in the 20-man squad for the Europa League opener against Feyenoord. United boss Jose Mourinho insisted that the England international was omitted just to keep him fresh for the Premier League clash against Watford on Sunday.
Speaking at the press conference before the match, Mourinho had said: “He has played every game since the start of the season and he played 90 minutes with England.
“I want him to be fresh for the next games.
“He plays in an attacking position where I have lots of options.”
But according to reports in English news outlet The Sun, it was a ‘deliberate strategy’ from the Portuguese tactician to send a message to the underperforming captain. And well there are several reasons that prove this claim.
Soon to turn 35, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has featured heavily for the Red Devils this season but he was still included in the squad.
Mourinho severely criticised the players after the derby loss and indicated that he will take a harsh call on the players. In fact, all the players omitted from the squad had performed poorly in the derby defeat against Manchester City. Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Wayne Rooney performed poorly against City and were omitted from the squad and it seems that just to avoid any unnecessary controversy so early in the season, Mourinho said that the skipper was not included just to avoid a burn-out.
The daily claimed that Mourinho is expecting a big reaction from the forward after the harsh treatment.
Meanwhile, the English giants lost their second match in a row after Feyenoord stunned them in the opener. Tonny Vilhena’s goal late in the second half was enough to seal a memorable win for the Dutch outfit.