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16th May 2024
09:52am BST
Wayne Rooney has called on Manchester United to "get rid" of the majority of the squad and warned them that it could take up to 15 years to win the Champions League.
Rooney was part of Sky Sports' coverage of United's 3-2 win against Newcastle United on Wednesday night to add some positivity to what has been an otherwise miserable campaign.
United still have a chance of winning the FA Cup - albeit they face rivals Manchester City - but it's expected that the club will try to offload as many players as possible in a big summer rebuild.
When asked about his thoughts on the current state of the United squad Rooney didn't hold back and surprised David Jones with his ruthless assessment of the current team, claiming that Bruno Fernandes is the player that they should build their side around.
"You have to build the team around Bruno. He's quality and has got fight in him, and then I think all the other players get rid of them," he said.
"I think you keep the young players, and you keep Bruno.
"I think it has to be a massive clear out. It has to be. It's not going to be in one year, but I think it's going to be in the next couple of years."
Jones then asked Rooney if he would keep the likes of Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire, to which he said: "I think he (Onana) has had a shaky start but has got better and better over the year.
"For me, Dalot's done well, Maguire has had an in and out season.
"To compete in this league they need better players. Don't get me wrong these players are good players. But to compete with Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal, they need better players.
Any rebuild isn't an overnight job and given the assessment Rooney had made on United's squad, it could be a good few years before their dreams of challenging at the top are realised once again.
Both Rooney and Andy Cole have this mindset and believe it could even take up to 15 years before the Red Devils win a Champions League title again.
Cole said: "For me personally the gap won't be closing in the next couple of years. If you look at the gap now between Manchester United and Man City, that tells you everything."
Meanwhile, Rooney added: "Well you look at Man City when their new owners came in it took them 15 years to win the Champions League. That's potentially what you might be looking at, you hope not."
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