Wayne Rooney has offered advice to Harry Maguire on dealing with the pressure and expectation of being Manchester United captain.
Maguire is enduring a crisis of form and confidence and is under pressure to keep his place in Ralf Rangnick's side after a succession of poor performances for United.
England defender Maguire has had a season to forget and his miserable campaign continued with a calamitous display in United's 1-1 draw at Burnley on Tuesday.
He was culpable for Burnley's equaliser and lucky not to be shown a red card for hauling back goalscorer Jay Rodriguez as the forward surged towards the United goal.
Off the pitch, Maguire was involved in an altercation with police on the Greek island of Mykonos in 2020, leading to his conviction for aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
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Maguire's legal team launched an immediate appeal, which is still ongoing, with Rooney revealing he spoke to the defender in the aftermath of the incident, to offer him advice.
Ex-United captain Rooney and Maguire share the same management company and the former, who has endured high-profile issues off the field, revealed he has reached out to offer his support.
“I've spoken to Harry a lot and had very good conversations with him,” said Rooney.
“Obviously with the incident in Greece and things on football as well.
“I speak to Harry on things and try to help him and give him advice, of course.
“But he's his own person, he's Manchester United captain in his own right and sometimes you have to go through these moments to improve yourself.”
On his former club United's current woes, Rooney said the Old Trafford hierarchy need to appoint a permanent boss this summer and give him time to rebuild the entire squad.
“I think they're going through a tough period, obviously,” said Rooney, speaking at the premiere of a new film charting his life and career. “You can see a few things off the pitch, but it's a tough one.
“It's been going on for a while, if I'm being honest. These are things I brought up in 2010. To be fair, they've tried everything.
“They've tried very experienced managers in Louis van Gaal, they've tried Jose Mourinho, David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, one of their own, and now they've tried a more professor type in the new manager.
“I really do think they need to bring someone in and give them time, give them an opportunity to build a squad and let them compete and get back to the level we all feel they should be at.
“Manchester United and Everton are both clubs I'd love to manage one day but I've got a commitment to Derby County, I'm fighting for them, so my focus has to be on Derby.”
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