Wayne Rooney Names Better Goal Scorer Than Himself, Snubbing Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland

• Wayne Rooney snubbed Erling Haaland, Robin van Persie and other legendary players when naming a better goal scorer than himself
• The retired striker is Manchester United’s all-time top goal scorer with 253 goals across all competitions
• Rooney has since ventured into football management and was recently appointed the new coach of League Two outfit Plymouth

Wayne Rooney confidently overlooked Erling Haaland and Robin Van Persie when challenged to name a superior goal scorer to himself in his prime.

The former England man was a force to reckon with in his prime, and this is evident from the numbers he accrued in his career that spanned more than 18 years.

Primarily a forward, Rooney showed versatility in the latter stages of his career when he dropped deeper in midfield and morphed into a crucial playmaker for teams like DC United and Derby County.

Which player holds the record for scoring the most goals for a single club?

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He is mostly remembered for his time at Manchester United, where he won five Premier League titles, four English League Cups, an FA Cup, and the Champions League and Europa League.

To date, he remains the Red Devils’ all-time top goal scorer with 253 goals and was only recently overtaken by Harry Kane as England’s all-time top scorer.

Rooney names a better goal scorer than him

Despite his obvious goal-scoring prowess, Rooney ranks one former England star as better than him in that department.

The 38-year-old recently participated in the popular BBC social media challenge where legends of the game are asked to remain silent until a player better than him is mentioned.

Rooney was presented with some big names – past and present – but he stayed quiet through most of them.

Among the names he snubbed were Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Olivier Giroud, Fernando Torres, Miroslav Klose, Robin Van Persie, Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland.

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However, the former Manchester United man spoke up when England legend Gary Lineker’s name was mentioned.

Asked whether he singled out Lineker because he knew him, Rooney defended his pick, saying:

“No, when we are talking goal scorers, I have to say Lineker.”

Wayne Rooney vs Gary Lineker stats

In terms of career stats, Rooney has a slightly better goal haul than his England counterpart, albeit with more appearances on the pitch.

Lineker, who scored 48 goals for England and was the runner-up at the 1986 Ballon d’Or, scored 233 goals in 456 appearances, compared to Rooney’s 313 goals in 764 appearances, according to Transfermarkt.

Rooney explains how Guardiola affected Euro 2024

In other news, Sports Brief reported on Wayne Rooney’s interesting theory about why some of the heavyweights at the Euro 2024 were underperforming.

According to the former Manchester United striker, teams were trying to play like Pep Guardiola.

Rooney alleged that the Manchester City boss’ style of play was becoming popular, but it has led to teams ‘trying to score the perfect goal’.