MANCHESTER UNITED legend Wayne Rooney jokingly revealed an exchange with Pep Guardiola which left him “fuming” while he was in charge at Derby County.
, who was manager of Derby between 2020-22, received a voicemail from the legendary manager reminding him of ‘s win over in 2011.
Wayne Rooney was bantered by Pep Guardiola while he was a manager Credit: PA
Rooney’s Derby had players on loan from Man City Credit: Getty
Rooney described the moment while on the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup final, he recalled trying to contact Guardiola about bringing City academy player Liam Delap to Pride Park on loan.
He said: “I called him [Pep] but it didn’t get through so then he called back and I missed it and he left a voicemail saying ‘Hi Wayne this is Pep, the one who beat you in the Champions League final’.
“So I was fuming.”
The six-time Premier League winning manager was referring to the last time United were in the Champions League final as they faced Barcelona at Wembley in 2011.
Barca won the clash 3-1 thanks to goals from Pedro, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and David Villa.
Rooney, who would play another five seasons for United, equalised but Guardiola’s treble winners were too much for Sir ‘s Red Devils.
Rooney took up interim charge as player-manager at Derby County in 2020, before being appointed as permanent manager the following season, therefore officially hanging up his boots.
After saving them from the drop, he resigned after the club was relegated following their administration a year later.
"Hi Wayne, this is Pep, the one who beat you in the Champions League final".
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 16, 2026
Ruthless from Pep. 😅 pic.twitter.com/JB0VvrkBXd
He then spent 15 months managing DC United in the .
After failing to qualify for the end of season play-offs for two years running – Rooney and DC mutually agreed to part ways.
Next, the pundit joined sixth-placed Championship side Birmingham City in October 2023.
He lasted three months at the Midlands club, after winning a mere twice in 15 matches, leaving the Blues in 20th position.
In May 2024 he was appointed by Plymouth Argyle, also of the Championship.
Seven months later on December 31 with the team in bottom spot and four points from safety – Rooney left by mutual agreement.
The star is now a regular on football fans’ screens – working for the BBC, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
He recently did an with Manchester United captain on his show.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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