Ben Jessey
Wayne Rooney is England’s and Manchester United’s record goal scorer. Those two achievements alone show you the incredible career than this man has had. That’s not to mention his Champions League medal and the five Premier League titles he’s won.
The Croxteth born attacker is now winding down his career with DC United in the MLS, so we thought it would be the perfect time to see what other greats of the game have had to say about him…
“He was the kid of England, everyone loved him. He was so powerful I was calling him ‘Pitbull.’ The power of Wayne Rooney is his mentality and strength and he never stops. He’s a fantastic team player and he scores. He’s a fantastic boy and he helped me a lot when he came to join us in Manchester.” – Cristiano Ronaldo
“I have never seen a player as powerful as Rooney – the way he goes past people, the intensity of his play, the runs he makes from the first minute to the last and the shot that he has. World class.” – Gerard Pique
“To play well for six months or a season in football is nothing. To do so for over a decade like Rooney is extraordinary. I know what it takes, and it isn’t easy. Trust me, people talk about him outside of this country. In Spain and France, he is appreciated as a top, top player.” – Thierry Henry
“Wayne Rooney is a player I have admired for a long time. He is an extraordinary player with extraordinary capabilities.” – Xavi
“His aggression is one of his big strengths. He has no fear at all. Wayne knows he has the ability, but he has this knack of being able to go out there and not be scared of anyone no matter who he is up against.” – Frank Lampard
“No player in modern football can match his efficiency and work-rate, and he’s not egotistical like many men of his speciality. He’s the sort of magnificent team player every coach wants in his starting XI.” – Andriy Shevchenko
“What I value most about the way United play is how hard players like Rooney work. We cannot commit any mistakes because they have so much fire-power up front.” – Andres Iniesta
“There was a day when we had him in training. He was only a young boy and we had to set up a small-sided game and Wayne chipped a goalkeeper from near the byeline. It was a moment when we all looked at each other and said, ‘Did he really do that? Did that happen?’.We knew it before, but when we saw that happen we all thought ‘there is a real special talent here.” — David Moyes
“Rooney is three world-class players in one and doesn’t have an identifiable weakness” – Gary Lineker
“There has always been a great deal of respect between myself and Wayne Rooney. For me he is the great English player of the generation. What he is capable of doing on the field is very special, and he is one of the few players that would improve any squad in Europe.” – Lionel Messi