Wayne Rooney is one of England’s best-ever players, but he always seemed to play for a team that were the arch-rivals of Liverpool.
The Englishman spent most of his career with Manchester United and Everton, with his best years being spent with the Red Devils.
Rooney spent a lot of time embarrassing Liverpool when he played against them, and even as a pundit, he seems to hold the Reds to a rather high standard compared to the rest of the Premier League.
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In fact, he even does the same with Liverpool’s first-team squad, as he called out Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah for their lack of leadership this term.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
However, he does have some fond memories with some of the Reds’ players, with the Man United legend even admitting that one of them was one of the best leaders he’s ever worked with.
Wayne Rooney says Steven Gerrard was always a great captain for England
Steven Gerrard is undoubtedly one of the most well-known Liverpool players of all time.
Apart from a short stint with LA Galaxy at the end of his career, Gerrard stuck by his boyhood club no matter what.
There were even times when Gerrard turned down a move to Real Madrid, that is, even though the Reds were nowhere near as good as Los Blancos.
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Despite all this, the Englishman stuck with Liverpool through thick and thin, and to be honest, it’s clear that he had a lasting impact on those that he played with, including Rooney.
And, that’s because when he was asked about who the best leader he’s ever played with was, Rooney said the following to The Overlap’s Official TikTok account: “There’s a few in different ways.
“Steven Gerrard was always a good captain for England, Rio was good [but] I’d probably say Gary Neville.”
Virgil van Dijk could end up being seen as a strong leader like Steven Gerrard after his Liverpool stint
The only thing that Gerrard missed out on when playing for Liverpool was the Premier League title.
There were a couple of times when the Englishman came close to getting his hands on the trophy, but unfortunately for him, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Since then, Jordan Henderson and Van Dijk have taken the reins and have delivered plenty of success to Anfield, including two Premier League titles.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Most thought that it would take years for Liverpool to find a leader as strong as Gerrard, but Henderson more than filled that void, with Van Dijk not too far behind him either.
If the Dutchman continues delivering trophies and keeps performing to the same levels he’s shown over the last few seasons, there’s no reason why, in the future, he couldn’t be held in the same regard as Gerrard for his leadership.