Ander Herrera on Wayne Rooney: 'Good fun because he's very open and insults us in Spanish'

Surrounded by teammates from Spain and Latin America, Wayne Rooney appears to have succumbed to the Spanish profanity of his teammates at Manchester United.

In conversation with ESPN, Ander Herrera - who arrived at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid ahead of this season - spoke openly about his coworkers and revealed that Rooney is among the main authorities in United's dressing room.

Of course, that should come as no surprise since Rooney wears the captain's armband at the club. However, it turns out that Spanish cursing is one of the ways that United's No. 10 exerts that authority.

"I think there is a lot of respect for Rooney and (Michael) Carrick for the years they've spent at the club," Herrera said. "But I think that, like (David) De Gea tells me, before it was more hierarchical with figures like (Rio) Ferdinand, (Paul) Scholes, (Ryan) Giggs ...

"Rooney is good fun because he's very open and insults us in Spanish, but I prefer to talk football with him because he likes boxing a lot and he can try it on me! Carrick is very serious but he proves another (Marcelo) Bielsa phrase: 'Leaders don't need to talk much, but they're listened to when they do speak.'

"Ashley Young is the joker, but I think the Spanish speakers have more of a sense of humour. Maybe it's because we always go together, and the English try to be alone more. (Angel) Di Maria never stops, (Radamel) Falcao and (Antonio) Valencia are very open."

Herrera also shed insight on why he found himself on the fringes of United's squad this season, admitting that he defied manager Louis van Gaal's tactical instructions and still "maintains a distance" from the Dutchman, who he believes is "good behind it all."