Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has named two Chelsea players in his five-a-side featuring the current Premier League stars. He has named Cole Palmer in his attack, and named Moises Caicedo as the only defensive player in his team.
Speaking on his BBC show, Rooney named Manchester City star Phil Foden as his first pick swiftly after he was asked to name his five-a-side team. When asked why he named the Englishman without thinking twice, the former striker pointed at the 25-year-old's abilities to do well on the ball in tight areas as the key reason.
Rooney went on to name Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as his other picks after naming the Chelsea duo of Palmer and Caicedo. He said:
"Current Premier League players Phil Foden, definitely. [Okay. One um why have you picked him first? He was like you didn’t even have to think about that.] Five-a-side, Phil Foden, tight areas, brilliant. Probably Cole Palmer as well in there. Saka. I’d put Caicedo in there. He’d be my defensive one but he can attack as well. Mo Salah. So, yeah, that would be me five players.”
Rooney opted for an attacking five-a-side and said that he was unwilling to put a goalkeeper in the lineup.
Chelsea among clubs Wayne Rooney almost joined during Manchester United career
Wayne Rooney spoke on the UTD Podcast in 2020, admitting that he had been offered the chance to leave Manchester United several times in his career. He revealed that the Chelsea interest was concrete when Jose Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge in 2013, while Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester City also showed interest.
He said:
“I think it was well documented that Chelsea and Mourinho wanted to sign me. There was Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Man City thing keeps cropping up, but there was never the option for me to go there. Although there were rumours on that as well, but the other three, really, were more realistic options."
“In my head, at the time, in that two-day period, I was ready to go and play in Spain. Ideally, I would have liked to have gone to Barcelona, but it was looking more likely to be Real Madrid than Barcelona. Chelsea were always there as well.”
Wayne Rooney stayed at Manchester United until 2017, returning to Everton before playing for DC United and Derby County in the latter stages of his career.