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Nicky Butt rates ‘underappreciated’ England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney as one of the ‘top 10 players of all time’.
Rooney established himself as one of England and Man United’s greatest players over the course of his 19-year professional career.
The forward spent two years in the first-team of his boyhood club Everton before being signed by Manchester United in 2004.
Over the next decade Rooney became an Old Trafford great, scoring a club-record 253 goals in 559 games and lifting five Premier League trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rooney also played a key role in Manchester United’s Champions League win in 2008.
His international career spanned 15-years and saw Rooney score 53 goals in 120 games, which was a record until Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer in March 2023.
‘I don’t think he’s appreciated as much as he should be, even with United fans,’ ex-England and Manchester United star Butt said on the Football’s Greatest podcast.
‘I don’t know if that’s the Liverpool-Manchester rivalry but he was phenomenal. He was a beast.
‘When people say their top-10 players of all time, not a lot of people would him in that bracket but he should be, easily.’
Old Trafford legend Paul Scholes agrees with Butt’s take and revealed he played a ‘small part’ in Rooney’s move to Manchester United.
‘I played a small part in Rooney coming actually because he was playing for England by that point and the gaffer [Sir Alex Ferguson] asked me to ring him,’ Scholes said.
‘He sent me his phone number and told me he wanted to sign him. I called him up which was a bit weird because I had never really spoken to him before but I explained the situation and he said “I want to come, I would love to come”.
‘He was out of this world for us. The sheer effort, the pressing and tackling, never mind the quality. Look at his record – most goals for United, second-most for England.
‘He just wanted to come to United, give everything, win trophies and break records.
‘He just doesn’t get the credit he deserves. There’s a lot of admiration there obviously because he was brilliant but it’s not quite enough.’
Since Rooney retired in 2021 he has had managerial spells at Derby County, DC United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
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