Wayne Rooney sparks massive debate after picking players he was better than
Wayne Rooney will go down as one of the greatest players in Premier League history after firing in 253 goals in 559 appearances for Manchester United and winning every trophy available to him
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has sparked a debate on social media after insisting he was better than a list of superstar players, including Neymar, Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robert Lewandowski.
Rooney will go down as one of the best players in Premier League history after he blitzed 253 goals in 559 appearances for the Red Devils, helping them win five titles, three League Cups, one FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League.
In his prime, Rooney netted a high of 34 goals in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson, and at one point was linked with an exit and twice demanded to leave the club. He previously revealed Barcelona and Real Madrid were both interested in his signature.
And it's clear Rooney still holds himself in the highest regard as a player after being asked to compare himself with a number of top footballers in a "winner stays on" format video on social media by Gamdom.
Rooney was first asked to say who was better between himself or ex-Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suarez, as he admitted: "Tough one to start," before naming himself.
The 39-year-old then ousted Neymar, Aguero and Ibrahimovic before the presenter said Lewandowski's name, which promoted the ex-striker to say: "These are tough by the way," before he still picked himself, and did the same against Erling Haaland.
He also hesitated before picking himself ahead of Harry Kane but had no problems doing the same thing when Alessandro Del Piero was mentioned. Some fans were left flabbergasted that Rooney viewed himself above so many top players - with many stunned that he thought he was better than Neymar.
One fan posted a crying emoji as he wrote: "Bro thinks he's better than Neymar, Suarez, Zlatan, Lewa, Haaland," as another added: "No way he's better then Suarez or Neymar tho? Not even close to Neymar."
A third said: "The lack of self-awareness is crazy," as another mocked him for claiming the choices were hard despite naming himself every time.
But a number of fans pointed out that Rooney was right to back his ability over all of the players put to him as a generational talent who won every trophy available to him and wowed from an early age until the end of his career.
One Manchester United fan said: "I'm sorry but if you're not rating Wayne Rooney then you must be under 20. Rooney in his day was unplayable widely regarded as one of England's greatest talents and one of the most successful players of he's generation."
A second fan pointed out that many social media users criticising him were clearly of a newer generation who did not watch him growing up, saying: "Prime Wayne Rooney clears all of these players and it's not particularly close."
A third pointed out that only two players mentioned could compete, saying: "Other than Neymar and possibly Suarez, rest of his answers were spot on. Rooney was a phenom."
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