Paul Parker dishes out a brutal assessment of ‘overweight and slow’ Wayne Rooney

Paul Parker has clearly taken a leaf out of former teammate Roy Keane's book of saying whatever you bloody well like about your old club.

Although he spent five years at Manchester United in the nineties, the former full-back doesn't seem to give a shit about getting on the wrong side of those at Old Trafford. Paul Parker, speaking exclusively to 888Sport, discusses the role of Wayne Rooney in the season ahead. Having warned that the England international needs to start showing his worth to the club on the field of play, not just in terms of marketing, Parker claims that Rooney looks 'overweight and slow'.

"As much as people appreciate what he's done over the years and how many goals he's scored, football is about now and being judged on now. If someone had only heard of Wayne Rooney but seen him now they'd think 'Who is this fella? He's overweight and slow. That shot was terrible, and it looks like he can't move or shift his body quick enough'."

This isn't the first time in recent months that Parker's views on United have made waves. Last February, with pressure growing on Louis van Gaal, Parker addressed calls for the club to appoint Jose Mourinho as his successor. Claiming that the former Chelsea boss would have been a risk for the club, he then suggested Tim Sherwood would have been a more logical choice to succeed Van Gaal.

"Frankly, given how unhappy the players are right now, they'd be better off bringing in Tim Sherwood between now and the end of the season: someone to soft soap the players, give them a but of a cuddle, get them feeling good about themselves once again."

We have no doubt that Sherwood would have managed to attract the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba this summer. Looks like United are stuck with Mourinho and their 'overweight' captain. Read the full 888sport interview with Paul Parker, including his thoughts on the future of ‘overweight’ Wayne Rooney and his thoughts that United still need three new players to challenge for the title. Read more: