The former captain of England, Wayne Rooney, has ranked the best player he ever had the pleasure of playing with during his time on the international stage.
Everton and Manchester United are just two of the teams that Rooney, who is now 39 years old, has played for during his time in the Premier League. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of English football.
On the international stage, Rooney represented England in 120 matches and scored 53 goals during his time with the team.
In 2015, he became the all-time leading goal scorer in the country, but Harry Kane eventually surpassed him in 2023 to become the all-time leader.
It was during Rooney’s time with the Three Lions that he had the opportunity to play alongside some of the most accomplished players in the country’s long and illustrious history. These players included the likes of Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard, among others.
For England, who was the best player he played alongside during his time there?
In the year 2018, Rooney provided his conclusive response during an interview with Gary Neville, who had previously been a teammate of his on the England team.
According to what he said, “It has to be Steven Gerrard.”
He was able to get us through some games at times. During the time when we obviously lost a good number of players, including yourself, Rio, and Becks. Frank, Stevie, and I were the ones who left us.
Then, Rooney continued, “Stevie was the one who helped us get through our games.”
Throughout the majority of their respective England careers, Gerrard and Rooney played alongside each other. Rooney, a legend from Liverpool, made his debut with the Three Lions in the year 2000.
Additionally, both players would make their first appearances in a competitive tournament at the Euro 2004 tournament, which brought Rooney to the forefront of the international scene.
In addition, Gerrard disclosed to Neville, during an episode of The Overlap that aired while he was the manager of Aston Villa, that the United legend was the England player with whom he had the best relationship. On account of this, the respect is reciprocal.
“Wazza is one of those people, especially when you’re away with your family, you need people like Wayne Rooney who are going to lift the room, or lift the day, or do something,” he explained. “I think Wazza is one of those people.”
“I used to love being around Wayne, and obviously because we’ve come from similar areas and stuff I used to really love spending time with Wayne.”
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