Wayne Rooney wins pundit of the year award

Wayne Rooney’s blunt verdict on the 2026 World Cup final half-time show made headlines. Now the former England and Manchester United captain has collected a major broadcasting honour, named pundit of the year at the Broadcast Sport Awards.

Rooney, 41, received the award at a London ceremony attended by 650 people from the sports television industry. His comment on the show—“I like a lot of them artists, but I thought it was crap”—was delivered live on television and surprised some viewers, including fellow pundit Joe Hart. But his directness and humour during the tournament connected with audiences.

The award marks a notable turn in a career that has taken Rooney from elite football to management and now broadcasting. He said he had not understood how difficult the work would be when he began, adding that he remains his own biggest critic and still wants to improve.

His start as a full-time pundit on Match of the Day in August 2025 divided opinion. Some viewers questioned whether playing experience automatically made someone a good analyst. Others saw promise: Guardian journalist Paul MacInnes described Rooney as articulate and tactically insightful, with a deep store of football experience.

Rooney has treated the role as something to learn, seeking advice from television executives and established former-player pundits including Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, Hart and Micah Richards. He said watching experienced colleagues helps, and that punditry keeps him involved in football.

Criticism has not put him off. Rooney said he sees it and uses it as motivation to improve, reflecting a competitive instinct that served him through a playing career featuring five Premier League titles, the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and three League Cups.

His agent, Paul Stretford, said Rooney had continued to prove doubters wrong through his football intelligence and straightforward manner. BBC Sport figures also praised his willingness to learn and determination to develop. Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC’s director of sport, said Rooney had worked hard on the skills of analysis and delivery, while noting the chemistry he built with Hart and Richards during the World Cup.

That on-screen partnership also produced an unusual challenge. After Rooney predicted Norway would beat Brazil, he pledged to row down the River Mersey if Norway won. When the result went against his prediction, Rooney adapted the promise for the United States, and he, Hart and Richards took to the Hudson River in New York.

The award offers a clear marker of how far Rooney has travelled since his early days in front of the cameras. He is still measuring himself against the standards he set as a player—but now, he says, the work is about becoming better at explaining the game.