Gary Neville has told Rio Ferdinand that he could see the shades of five former Manchester United teammates in Wayne Rooney’s best position on the pitch.
The 51-year-old linked up with former Manchester United and England teammate Rio Ferdinand for a podcast chat and touched on Wayne Rooney’s remarkable abilities.
Gary Neville, much like he did with fellow United legend Ferdinand, shared the pitch with England icon Rooney for both club and country in his prolific playing career.
Rooney became United’s all-time leading scorer after he eclipsed Sir Bobby Charlton in the goalscoring charts during his remarkable playing spell at Old Trafford.
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Gary Neville thinks Wayne Rooney’s playing style at Man Utd adopted key traits from other players
Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time after his seminal impact in the Premier League.
The 40-year-old former Man Utd striker lifted five Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Europa League, an FA Cup and three League Cups.
Gary Neville admitted that he could see shades of Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mark Hughes in Rooney’s playing style.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, he said: “He was the best forward I ever saw at Manchester United as I played.
“I’d never seen anybody who could do all this. He was a mixture of Mark Hughes, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona [and] Paul Scholes in the pocket and on the half turn.
“He was a mixture of all those players pulled together, Dwight Yorke [as well]. He was a mixture of all the best of those players [who] were amazing. He could do all of the things that they could do.”
Neville added: “He could drop in to their level. He could pass. He could find the pass. He could finish. He could head. Left foot, right foot.
“He could sprint back and defend. Honestly, he’s the best forward I’ve ever seen at Old Trafford in my time.”
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Man Utd legend Gary Neville names Wayne Rooney’s best position on the pitch
Neville admitted that Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy are the best strikers he has ever seen, but Rooney is a more complete centre-forward than any other player.
“And then Wazza, he’s the best, Wazza, Wazza’s the best centre-forward,” he explained.
“So, people say to me, ‘Who’s the best striker?’ I might say, Ruud van Nistelrooy [or] Alan Shearer.
“If you say, ‘Who is the best forward that I played with at United?’ It’s Wayne Rooney. The best tackler, the best header, the best goal scorer, the best assist maker.
“The best fighter, the best runner, the best… he was aggressive. He played football like he was in the street, still as a kid.”
Rooney arrived at Man Utd from Everton in 2004 under Sir Alex Ferguson before the former England striker left Old Trafford in 2017 and returned to his boyhood club.
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