Former England boss Keegan claimed Rooney’s confidence is “shot” and that he can’t complain about media intrusion because he has previously heavily publicised his family life.
Rooney endured another difficult afternoon on Sunday and was substituted with a slight ankle injury during Manchester United’s 2-2 draw away to Bolton Wanderers.
Keegan, ESPN’s match summariser, said: “Manchester United are minus Wayne Rooney at the moment. It's a different Wayne Rooney this year. It's not the same. It's like chalk and cheese. They need him firing on all cylinders.
“His performance at Bolton tells me his confidence is shot.”
Rooney has found himself in the spotlight off the field following front-page stories about private life. But Keegan pulled no punches, blaming Rooney for courting publicity.
He said: “You can't have all the contracts, you can't sell your wedding to magazines and things like this and suddenly say, ‘That's the tap I want to turn on but we want to turn the other one off'.
“You can't then turn around and say there's too much paparazzi around or there is too much publicity.
“One minute you are courting it, the next minute you're saying, 'I don't want this'.”
Rooney, playing his first away game since allegations about infidelity emerged, was jeered as he was replaced by Italian striker Federico Macheda.
By Luke Nicholls
