Wayne Rooney appeared tired as he left the studio last night following his debut on the newly-revamped Match of the Day after landing a reported £800,000 deal.

The former England and Manchester United footballer joined host Mark Chapman on the BBC programme’s first Saturday night show since Gary Lineker’s exit.

Rooney, 39, cut an exhausted figure as he was photographed in the early hours of this morning heading home from MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The ex-England captain has joined the BBC show as a pundit after leaving his most recent spell in management at Plymouth Argyle back in December.

Chapman presented the first edition of the new-look programme last night and will share the hot seat with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan.

The show, on BBC One from 10.20pm until 11.40pm, had an average audience of 1.75million, a 2.11million peak and a share of 29 per cent, according to Overnights.TV. 

In comparison, Lineker’s final Match of the Day on May 25 had an average audience of 1.84million, a peak of 2.52million and a share of 32 per cent. 

The experienced Chapman had stepped in to host Match of the Day when Lineker was not available and also regularly fronted the Sunday show, Match of the Day 2.

He was joined by Rooney and MOTD veteran Alan Shearer last night to begin the new era of the flagship programme, but viewers were underwhelmed.

Wayne Rooney certainly cut a tired figure as he headed home in the early hours after making his first appearance as a regular on Saturday’s Match Of The Day

Wayne cut a casual figure as he left the BBC studios to make his way home, with viewers quick to share their thoughts on his first appearance on social media

The former England and Manchester United star joined host Mark Chapman on the first show of the new-look show as the new Premier League season kicked off this weekend 

Rooney, who was earlier pictured in good spirits arriving at the studio, was the target of particular criticism with some saying he got off to a shaky start. 

One X user said: ‘I’m going to say this now as it will be said all season; I mean no offence to him personally, but having Wayne Rooney on MOTD is a big mistake.’

Another was underwhelmed with the standard of the post-match discussions, adding: ‘Rooney’s punditry makes me nostalgic for the mute button. Great player, dreadful analysis.’

But Chapman, viewed as a safe pair of hands to begin the transition away from Lineker’s lengthy era, was largely praised after his first appearance of the season.

‘My goodness, what an upgrade in presenter,’ one viewer said. ‘Mark Chapman is the best in the business.’

However, not everyone was on board with the show sticking to its usual format.

‘Rather than an exciting new #MOTD format, much as I like Mark Chapman, this just looks like a Sunday night,’ one X user posted.

Another simply said: ‘Not the same without Lineker.’

In a review in The Sunday Times, Alyson Rudd wrote that the ‘big question for Chapman’ was ‘not about his stamina, however, but whether anyone was watching Match of the Day after its rebirth’.

She added: ‘Rooney and Shearer were like pupils keen to show the new head of philosophy that they had done some homework but, equally, that they were senior enough to be allowed special privileges such as wearing heavy knitwear.’

And in the Sunday Telegraph, Alan Tyers wrote: ‘Rooney seems like a good bloke, a shy person with a sense of humour. 

‘Nothing in his managerial CV speaks to any sort of tactical or analytical genius so maybe his BBC handlers can find a way to utilise him in a way other than “errrrm, the full-back’s gone wide here” etc?

‘His unusual playing status of being a legitimate Premier League great who nevertheless did not quite squeeze everything he could have from his talent makes him a more human and relatable figure than many others of his elite level.’

Chapman began the show with a cheeky joke at Rooney’s expense.

During the opening segment, he alluded to the changes on the panel, but instead of speaking about Lineker’s departure, he referenced the addition of Rooney.

Chapman said: ‘Evening. The Premier League is back and Match of the Day is back. You may have seen and heard that there is a big change to the show this season and that is Wayne Rooney has joined us as a regular pundit.

The three-strong presenting team were drafted in to replace Gary Lineker

Lineker departed the BBC at the end of last season and had presented the show since 1999

‘Some things don’t change, though. Alan [Shearer] is still here.’

Lineker’s final show came at the end of last season on May 26 in a long-planned move.

The 64-year-old had planned to front the BBC’s live coverage of the FA Cup and 2026 World Cup, but brought forward his departure following a social media row in which he shared a post about Zionism featuring a depiction of a rat, historically used as an antisemitic trope.

Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid presenter and host of Match of the Day since 1999, apologised unreservedly for the post but said it was ‘best for all concerned’ if he left completely.

From this season, the Sunday highlights, as well as the new Champions League highlights show, will all be known as Match of the Day.

On Wednesday, Cates hosted a programme to preview the new Premier League season alongside Rooney, Danny Murphy and Julien Laurens. Logan is due to host Match of the Day’s Sunday night programme tonight.