“They’ve got to be ready” - Wayne Rooney opens up on how playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo Jr added more pressure on his son Kai

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has revealed the pressure that is on young players whose fathers were stars like his son and Cristiano Ronaldo's at academy level. Rooney's oldest son Kai is on the books of the Red Devils, where he is one of their most exciting academy players in his age group.

Rooney spoke on his podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, where he highlighted the challenges faced by these youngsters at that level. The former Birmingham City coach pointed out that the pressure on the kids with the increased attention they get due to the identity of their fathers.

"There's a bit more pressure on them as well. Kai and [when Cristiano] Ronaldo came back, Ronaldo's lads and Michael Carrick's lad were all on the same team.

You go and watch and then all of a sudden there's like 10 times the amount of people that's normally there, all around the pitch watching, so there's a lot more pressure because they're coming to watch the three kids to see how they play and stuff. They've got to be ready", he said via GOAL.

Kai Rooney and Jacey Carrick both featured for Manchester United's U-16s this summer, but the 15-year-old Rooney has been bumped up to the U-18 squad. They were teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo Jr before the teenager moved to the Middle East with his father in January 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr caught the eye at a youth tournament earlier this year with Portugal's U-15s as he helped them win the trophy. The young forward will hope to play with his father, who recently signed a two-year deal with Al-Nassr aged 40.

Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo several others absent from Manchester United legends roster in friendly game

Manchester United's record goalscorer Wayne Rooney was not part of their legends team for their friendly against Celtic legends, which ended 2-2. Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo was also absent, as he was on international duty with the Portugal national team.

The Red Devils legends made the trip to Glasgow to raise money for the Celtic Foundation and had the trio of Dimitar Berbatov, Nani, and Louis Saha in attack. Darren Fletcher and Berbatov scored for the English side, who were pegged back in the second half before losing 4-3 on penalties.

Club legend Bryan Robson coached the team in Glasgow and made do with the absence of Wayne Rooney, who scored the most goals in the club's history. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, and David Beckham were all absent for the game.