Wayne Rooney has pushed back against claims that England’s current squads have a better attitude than his so-called “golden generation,” insisting that his team simply “didn’t quite manage to get over the line.”
The debate reignited this week after former Three Lions captain Steven Gerrard made headlines, claiming that England’s lack of major trophies in his era was due to key players being “egotistical losers.” Gerrard, who won 114 caps between 2000 and 2014, added bluntly: “We weren’t a team.”
Rooney, speaking on his BBC podcast The Wayne Rooney Show, offered a different perspective. The ex-Manchester United forward, who scored a then-record 53 goals in 120 England appearances, stopped short of echoing Gerrard’s criticism.
“Obviously, we didn’t win anything,” Rooney admitted. “I wouldn’t quite put it that way, but I know what he’s saying. There were a lot of big characters in the dressing room. I wouldn’t say [England squads now have a] better attitude. That’s disrespectful to us as players because we worked hard, we tried. We just didn’t quite manage to do it.”
Rooney pointed out that the modern generation benefits from different circumstances:
“What you have now is [rival teams’] players training together before they go back to pre-season together—Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford, for instance. It’s a different generation. The big thing is the media coverage is much better. The players get on better with the media. From the outside, that gives a better feeling.”
Gerrard, appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, had reflected on the challenges of player relationships during their time, suggesting that former Manchester United and Liverpool teammates were more connected as pundits than they ever were on the pitch.
Rooney acknowledged the difficulties but defended the unity of his squads:
“It [was] difficult to have that relationship with Liverpool and Man Utd players. It’s easier now. I speak to Steven all the time. You can have better relationships now because you can have a beer together and relax more. I was fine with everyone, I got on with everyone. I was aware Becks [David Beckham], Gary Neville and Scholesy [Paul Scholes] weren’t going to be close to the Liverpool players. But one thing for sure is everyone worked hard for each other. We just didn’t manage to get over the line. I didn’t see that at all.”
Both Rooney and Gerrard played in six major tournaments for England, yet never advanced beyond the quarter-finals. Despite the heartbreak, Rooney emphasized that belief was never in question:
“The players always 100% believed we could win for sure.”
In Rooney’s eyes, the “golden generation” was never short on effort or determination—it simply faced the cruel margins of tournament football.
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