Ex-striker calls on captain to step down
Ex-England star Alan Shearer has called on Wayne Rooney to retire from international football to save himself further embarrassment, after the striker was booed at Wembley on Saturday.
The Manchester United star has been criticized in recent weeks for poor performances, and was indeed booed by England fans before the national team’s game against Malta on Saturday.
Teammates John Stones and Jordan Henderson defended their skipper after the match, but Shearer believes it’s finally time for England’s all-time record goalscorer to call it a day.
The Newcastle legend called for Rooney to quit after Euro 2016 and he doesn’t want to see the stock of somebody who was once regarded as English football’s brightest light fall any further.
“The scenario I wanted to avoid was the very one that played out on Saturday at Wembley,” Shearer wrote in his column for The Sun.
“I did not want to see our country’s greatest ever goalscorer and one of the best players to grace our game booed while wearing the captain’s armband at Wembley.”
Shearer also discussed the issue surrounding goalkeeper Joe Hart, and how the controversy surround him and Rooney sum up the state of the national side,
“We are in a position now where we have Rooney, who is not playing regularly for his club, Daniel Sturridge likewise and Theo Walcott, who is just finding some form again for Arsenal,” Shearer added.
“Our goalkeeper Joe Hart has been rejected by the favourites for the title Manchester City. It is a sign of where we are at, not good enough.”
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10
