Dominic Solanke suggests striker Man Utd signed in 2016 was actually better than Wayne Rooney

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Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke rates a former Manchester United striker higher than Wayne Rooney, despite being the club’s record goalscorer.

It has been eight years since Wayne Rooney left Manchester United.

After joining the club as a teenager in 2004, Rooney went on to become United’s record scorer with 253 goals.

Rooney also made 559 appearances for the Red Devils, winning five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, one Champions League, one Club World Cup, and one Europa League.

Although Rooney was key to a lot of the success in Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign as United manager, the England international proved to be a great servant for several managers who followed the iconic Scot into the Old Trafford dugout.

Rooney was one of the greatest players seen at the Theatre of Dreams. There are valid reasons United fans sang about him in the same breath as the great Pelé.

Dominic Solanke ranks Zlatan Ibrahimovic higher than Wayne Rooney

Yet to score a goal this season, Dominic Solanke is one of Tottenham’s star players.

The former Bournemouth striker boasts an impressive record against United, scoring five goals in 10 games. He has also beaten the Red Devils on four occasions, with the latest win coming in the 2025 Europa League final.

FutMob have done a video challenge with Solanke, asking him to rate a list of top strikers, such as Rooney.

It was a blind rating, and Solanke had placed Rooney in fourth before picking Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahead of the former United captain in second.

Solanke’s blind rating of top strikers

• Ronaldo
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• Thierry Henry
• Wayne Rooney
• Didier Drogba

Ibrahimovic career numbers

After announcing his retirement in 2023, Ibrahimovic later became a Senior Advisor and Operating Partner for AC Milan.

But it wasn’t long ago that Ibrahimovic was considered one of the best strikers in Europe. A status he held for a long time.

Ibrahimovic arrived at United in 2016, during the latter stages of his career, and made 53 appearances under Jose Mourinho. He scored 29 goals and created 10 assists in that time.

The Swede’s best record was at PSG, but he also scored 93 goals for AC Milan.

Interestingly, new United striker Benjamin Sesko idolised Ibrahimovic as a youngster. Fans would like to see the Slovenian replicate the iconic Swede’s goalscoring form.

Ibrahimovic once revealed how Patrick Vieira influenced his mentality as a footballer.