UTD Unscripted: Meeting Young Rooney

He went on to have an amazing career at United and he was always developing. After I left and joined Arsenal, I came up against him when he was probably at his peak. His decision-making, his maturity were both good when he first arrived at United, but by this stage they were so good that it was difficult to stop him. Really, really difficult. He got even better at playing with the others, his understanding with Cristiano and Carlos Tevez got better and he became an even bigger team player. It didn’t seem to bother him if the manager asked him to play on the left wing, he just got on with it and did a great job. 

When I sit down and think about the players I played with during my career, for my clubs and my country, it’s ridiculous. Zidane, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Baggio, Henry, Trezeguet, Blanc, Zanetti, Simeone, Keane, Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, and that’s just a few of them. It’s a joke, but no question at all, when I sit down and think about the best of them, Wayne is among them.

That’s not just because of his ability, but also because I know what it takes to play that long for United, the work behind the scenes that people don’t see and can’t even imagine. It might seem like the weekend comes, you put on your kit and do your magic, but no. He played for United for well over a decade and scored more goals for the club than anybody else. During that time, putting in all his effort for the club and the team, going up and down the field, defending like he did from the front, playing injured many times, giving his all for United. He was a true Red.