Rooney eager to beat Man Utd in FA Cup fifth-round, vows to celebrate if he nets
Wayne Rooney insists he wants his former club Manchester United to lose to Derby County on Thursday.
The Red Devils legend will captain the Rams when they host Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Rooney, who is United’s all-time record scorer with 253 goals, won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, an FA Cup and three League Cups during a 13-year spell at Old Trafford between 2004 to 2017.
After spending the 2017/18 campaign at boyhood club Everton, Rooney moved to MLS side DC United, before returning to England with Derby in January.
Now, Rooney and Derby will be looking to cause an FA Cup upset at Pride Park.
“Manchester United is a club I love,” he said in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT. “I loved my time there.
“But for this 90 minutes or 120 minutes, whatever it is, I want them to lose.
“After the game, I’ll go back to being a fan of theirs. If you’re a Manchester United fan, I’m sure they’d want to hear the same thing from their players who have been at other clubs.
“Football is a game where players move on from clubs and obviously I spent a long time at Manchester United. I go back and watch the games.
“But for this one, I want Derby to win and it doesn’t take away my feelings for Manchester United.”
Rooney, playing in a midfield role, has scored four goals and created a further two since making his Derby debut in January.
The 34-year-old felt he was always destined to face United when both clubs booked their place in the FA Cup fifth-round.
“It was always going to happen,” added England’s record goalscorer. “It was always going to be Manchester United or Chelsea, obviously with Frank [Lampard, who left Derby to manage Chelsea], as well.
“We got Manchester United, they’ll be favourites to win, but we’ll be there trying to cause an upset.”
Despite playing in two Champions League finals and being involved in close Premier League title run-ins, Rooney feels the same pressure playing for Derby in the second tier.
The Rams have an outside chance of making the Championship play-offs – they are eight points off a top-six spot with 10 games to go.
Rooney added: “It’s not less pressure. I’m captain of Derby County and we’re pushing to try to get into the Premier League.
“I put that pressure on myself to help them do that, I put that pressure on my teammates to try to do that.
“Although I’m not going for Premier League titles or Champions League titles, the pressure still remains.
Derby captain Wayne Rooney determined to beat Manchester United in FA Cup fifth-round – and promises to celebrate if he scores! https://t.co/hriHFhj12n pic.twitter.com/j5Ve9f9uBo
— Newsitnow (@Newsitnow1) March 5, 2020
Read Also: Man City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal set to hold next week
“There are targets there that we want to hit as a club.”
When asked whether he would celebrate if he scores against the Red Devils, Rooney finished: “Of course, I’m a Derby County player.
“I know this game means a lot to the fans, to the players, to the staff here, and of course I’ll celebrate.”