Manchester United defender Harry Maguire
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been speaking to the Norwegian media ahead of a friendly. Whilst he’s a fan of Erling Haaland, it’s Wayne Rooney was tougher to face.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has insisted he thinks that Wayne Rooney was his toughest opponent, more so than Erling Haaland.
The Manchester United defender has been speaking to Dagbladet this week ahead of Manchester United’s friendly clash with Rosenborg on Friday.
Haaland at the World Cup
Naturally, the main topic of conversation was Norway’s performance at the World Cup. They earned themselves plenty of fans in America, impressing plenty as they made it to the quarterfinals and took England to extra time at that stage.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland was the undisputed star of the show, shining on the pitch with a tally of seven goals, just two fewer than Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé.
He also became a star off the pitch, with his social media activity during the tournament earning admirers even outside of football fandom.
Maguire, who obviously knows the Manchester City striker well from the Premier League, is happy to admits he’s a big fan of the striker. That’s despite the rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United.
“I saw Norway in the World Cup, and they were absolutely fantastic. They have really impressed everyone in the World Cup,” he said.
“They were unlucky to be eliminated in the quarterfinals against England. It was a 50-50 match. Norway has a very strong team, and it is fun to see that they have become competitive on the big stage. They have a bright future ahead of them.”
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire picks Wayne Rooney over Erling Haaland
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire picks Wayne Rooney over Erling Haaland
“He (Haaland) is a fantastic footballer. You can see that in his statistics, and he was extremely good in the World Cup. When you play against him, you can’t afford to turn it off and give him even a little moment.”
It seems, though, that the Manchester United defender is not putting the Manchester City striker at the top of his list. Instead, he’s got a United icon sitting in first place.
“It has to be Wayne Rooney,” he added when asked about the best striker he has ever faced.