Dimitar Berbatov thinks Wayne Rooney could still manage Manchester United in the future, despite his poor spell at Birmingham City.
The duo were team-mates at Old Trafford, winning two Premier League titles together while playing under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rooney is a man currently in the spotlight after losing his job at Birmingham.
The former England captain won just two of his 15 matches in charge, having been appointed as John Eustace's replacement back in October.
Wayne Rooney was sacked as Birmingham manager earlier this week following a woeful run of form
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Many feel Rooney is now finished as a manager.
But Berbatov thinks there's still a chance the 38-year-old will manage United in the future, something Rooney has previously said is a big ambition for him.
"It's a very tricky situation," he told Betfair.
"Birmingham were sixth when Wazza took over, and now they're 20th in the table.
"It's a major disappointment to go from the top six to 20th and the statistics speak for themselves - he only won twice in 15 matches. It's difficult to defend that.
"On the other hand, he did not have the time to prove himself.
"In today's football, though, the most important thing is the results.
"You need to get the results first to give yourself time to build on your vision. You can't build on your vision while going through bad results.
"Unfortunately, you don't get time so easily in football.
"Maybe if he was given more time he would have turned things around, but again, the results are the most important thing in modern football.
"If the other results in the league were different and even if you're losing games you don't drop down the league, you stay in midtable, then maybe it's going to be a different picture.
"But Birmingham are near the bottom of the table and they have big ambitions, so it's led to the decision to sack Wazza.
"It's a pity. I sympathise with him because I know he wants to be a manager and one day maybe he'll be manager of Man United - I still stick to that.
"His time at Birmingham shows every footballer who'd like to go into management that even if you're a big name, it can't save you from the sack."
For now, United are managed by Erik ten Hag.
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Wayne Rooney has been tipped to manage Man Utd in the future by former team-mate Dimitar Berbatov
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The Dutchman's long-term future at Old Trafford is up in the air, having overseen a terrible season at the club so far.
And Berbatov thinks Ten Hag needs his summer signings to step up.
"There are some question marks around Ten Hag’s signings, so it will be interesting to see how this situation is resolved," he said.
"On the transfers under Ten Hag, people will be more careful and say some of the transfers have not been successful.
"The new ownership will check this and say to Ten Hag, 'you brought some players in but they haven't been successful, so we'll help you and together we'll try to find the best possible solution'.
Wayne Rooney won two of 15 matches during his time as Birmingham manager
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"That will be the necessary approach.
"As a manager, the guy who is making the team, your word should be heard and you should be involved with the transfers.
"But then you look at Ten Hag's past transfers, he'll have to learn from them and try to get better players next time."