Mourinho slams FA for not protecting Rooney

Jose Mourinho slammed the FA for not protecting Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United captain became the centre of a media storm while on England duty.

The 31-year-old was pictured at a wedding party late at night following the World Cup qualifying win over Scotland.

England interim manager Gareth Southgate is believed to have been left disappointed by the striker’s conduct and reports have emerged that Rooney could be stripped of the national team captaincy.

Mourinho aimed his criticism at the FA, however, insisting it should be preventing such situations arising in the first place.

Speaking at Friday’s media conference ahead of United’s clash with Arsenal, Mourinho said: “I am not saying he [Rooney] is affected.

“I am saying that even if you have or if you build a kind of wall around you to try to feel protected from what people write about you or think about you, the comments people make about you, even if you tried to build that wall, the wall has always points of fragility. 

“It always has some little holes. We are flesh and blood so I think it has an effect.

“The player goes to the national team, he belongs to the national team and when, as I learnt since I was a kid, if someone lends me something I have to take even better care [of it] than if it was mine.

“Since school, you know. Your friend lends you a pencil, you have to take care of the pencil better than if it was your pencil.

“So I think when one day if I become a national team manager, I will try – try, and I am not saying that I will be successful on that and I am not being critical with Gary [Southgate] or anyone, and I get the occasion to wish Gary the best of luck – but I think you have to build something to protect what is not yours, what someone lends you.

“If you go one by one, to see where these 23 [England] players were, some of them were in worse places than the hotel bar.”