Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has now made an eye-opening comparison between England icon Wayne Rooney and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
Rio Ferdinand shared the pitch with Wayne Rooney for both club and country, with the latter widely regarded as one of the best Premier League strikers of all time.
Rooney became Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer during his remarkable career after eclipsing England icon Sir Bobby Charlton in the goalscoring chart.
The 40-year-old former United striker would also shatter Red Devils legend Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring feat for England during his time with the Three Lions.
Rooney scored 53 times for England in 120 appearances before he retired from international duty, with Charlton netting 49 times in 106 matches for his country.
But the United legend’s goalscoring milestone for England would later be shattered by Harry Kane, who has found the back of the net 78 times in 112 matches.
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Rio Ferdinand makes a major Harry Kane point involving Man Utd and England icon Wayne Rooney
Harry Kane reached his goalscoring feat of 78 for England on Sunday in the Three Lions’ final World Cup qualifying match during the November international break.
The 32-year-old Bayern Munich striker broke the deadlock against Albania in the 74th minute before Kane completed his brace eight minutes later in Sunday’s clash.
Kane’s exploits sealed all three points for England in their Group K clash, with the Three Lions winning all eight of their World Cup qualifiers for the 2026 tournament.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand said: “When Kane drops deep, there’s a trigger, there’s runners.
“Because this guy, he’s got the radar boot on lock right now. And I’ve said for years, Wayne Rooney, I take him all day, he can do the [No] 9 and the [No] 10.”
Ferdinand added that he thinks there is now a case to be made that former United target Kane could have surpassed Wayne Rooney when it comes to passing the ball.
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“In terms of passing, I think Kane could have a strong argument to be as good or [a] better passer than Wayne Rooney, mate,” he continued to say on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“Because he’s passing from deep areas, he’s doing some mad fades, some daisy cutters, some getting on full-backs on their toes, doing their Achilles, stretching for it. His passing is a joke.”
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Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand on Harry Kane’s transformation as a player after his England impact
Kane remains a key figure for Thomas Tuchel as part of the England squad and the Three Lions skipper is expected to play a big role in the 2026 World Cup campaign.
Ferdinand has insisted that Kane’s transformation from an out-and-out striker to a flexible playmaker has manifested both in his England career and his time at Bayern.
“He’s becoming the playmaker, who then gets on the end of things as a No 9 as well,” he explained.
“It’s like he’s playing two or three positions in one game. And the big thing is both at Bayern and now with England as well in the last couple of games.
“When he drops deep, there’s a reaction, there’s a method to that madness.”
England star Kane has scored an impressive 23 times and picked up three assists in 17 matches across all competitions for Bayern in the 2025-26 campaign.
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