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Wayne Rooney’s celebrated career at Manchester United saw him secure five Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy, and a collection of unforgettable goals. However, according to the club’s all-time leading scorer, the true key to Sir Alex Ferguson’s formidable team wasn’t rooted in tactical genius or rigorous training. Instead, it was the PlayStation that played a pivotal role.
During his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, the 38-year-old former striker shared how the team’s camaraderie was built not just on the field, but also during their travels. The players frequently engaged in intense five-on-five matches of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs on the PlayStation Portable, transforming long trips into competitive gaming sessions.
“I genuinely believe a major factor in our success was our time spent playing on the PSP,” Rooney remarked. “It helped us communicate more effectively.”
He elaborated, “We’d play during flights and on the team bus. It was me, Rio [Ferdinand], Michael Carrick, John O’Shea, Wes Brown. The game required us to talk, make strategic decisions, and revive teammates when they got taken out. It was a huge part of our success. Just ask those players—it was fantastic.”
“We used to play it on the plane, on the team bus,” he explained. “It would be me, Rio [Ferdinand], Michael Carrick, John O’Shea, Wes Brown. You have to talk, you have to tactically be right, go and revive people when they get killed, and it was a massive part of our success. Ask any of those players – it was brilliant.”
Rooney added that his teammates’ styles in the game often mirrored their personalities on the pitch.
“Michael Carrick was a little sneaky, calm one. You’d be lying down hiding and suddenly hear a grenade bounce nearby – he’d thrown it,” he said. “I was just all in, frontline of the trenches, straight in there.”
So while Ferguson’s legendary leadership and the squad’s quality remain undisputed, Rooney insists that SOCOM and the PlayStation may just have played an underrated role in creating one of football’s most dominant dynasties.
Who’d have thought?
