Wayne Rooney gives ruthlessly honest World Cup final half-time show reaction as Stuart Pearce left baffled

Wayne Rooney was left unimpressed by the World Cup final’s half-time.

The first-of-its-kind performance saw a host of stars take to the field during the interval at the MetLife Stadium.

Getty

A show which lasted over 18 minutes was held following the first half between Spain and Argentina.

Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber and Shakira all performed on the pitch.

Meanwhile, there were cameos from the Muppets as well as World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.

As a result of the half-time show, the break between halves lasted 27 minutes and 24 seconds.

The performances received a rapturous reception inside the stadium.

However, Rooney was not convinced by what he had seen once the BBC coverage returned to the studio.

Asked for his favourite moment from the half-time show by Gabby Logan, the former England captain admitted: “I’ll be honest, when it finished.

“I like a lot of them artists, but I thought it was c***.”

His blunt assessment stunned Logan as well as fellow pundits Micah Richards and Joe Hart.

talkSPORT verdict

Rooney was not the only onlooker to be left perplexed by the half-time show.

talkSPORT’s Stuart Pearce had a similar reaction alongside Adrian Durham on our live coverage of the final.

During Shakira’s performance, Durham explained: “Shakira, it’s her fourth World Cup.

“I was there for the first in 2006, she was sensational. She’s sensational again. Stuart Pearce, are you into this?”

In response, England legend Pearce said: “Is it really? That’s beautiful. She’s certainly entertaining the crowd here.”

When put to him that his stance may have been ‘harsh’ on the Colombian singer, he added: “I haven’t said anything harsh at all! I said it’s sensational, she’s entertaining the crowd. You’ve read into that, that I’m a gnarly old fox.”

Durham replied: “Your face does not say those words. They might have come out of your mouth, but your face is saying something completely different.”

Getty

It soon became clear that Pearce did not know who he had been watching perform, though.

He continued: “Are you suggesting a mixed message? I didn’t actually know who it was, to be fair.”

Pearce then revealed that he thought K-Pop sensations BTS were ‘BLT’.

The half-time show followed a two-part closing ceremony prior to the match.

Performances from Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger minutes before kick-off were followed by a speech from actor Tom Cruise.

As a result, the players were late leaving the tunnel to walk out onto the pitch for the national anthems.

This caused kick-off to be delayed by a total of six minutes in East Rutherford, New Jersey.