Wayne Rooney was Manchester City’s nemesis for a long time. But he can’t help but share his admiration for one of Pep Guardiola’s players.
Wayne Rooney is one of England’s greatest ever football exports scoring an incredible 313 goals during his career, including 208 in the Premier League to make him the division’s third-highest scorer of all time.
Now retired and having had some admittedly very poor spells as a manager, the 39-year-old has been appearing quite often as a pundit and on social media too, and he’s not often far from a debate about Manchester City.
In fact, there was even a time when Rooney was linked with Manchester City with the Red Devils legend admitting himself that City were in for him at one point in 2010, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He never joined any of those teams, of course. But how things might have changed if Rooney did leave United for City remains a mystery. He certainly would’ve bolstered the front line under Roberto Mancini at the time.
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Wayne Rooney ranks Man City striker Erling Haaland in TikTok top 10
Now posting on TikTok, Rooney was doing a blind top 10 with a random generator of footballers of past and present. Among the attacking names in his top 10 were the likes of Gareth Bale, Luis Figo, and even his former England comrade Frank Lampard. Then came Erling Haaland.
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The Norwegian has been in blistering form once again this season with 29 goals in 39 games in all competitions, taking his City tally to a staggering 119 goals in what is only his third season playing at the Etihad. Needless to say, Rooney ranked Haaland above Bae, Figo, and Lampard in his top 10.
Erling Haaland’s Champions League stats vs Gareth Bale’s
Bale is a former footballer who perhaps doesn’t come into conversation as much as he should: a winner of three La Liga titles at Real Madrid, five Champions League titles and scorer of some incredible, memorable goals as well.
It was in the Champions League where Bale often stepped up. In 66 games in the competition he scored 22 goals and assisted 17, whereas Haaland has scored an unbelievable 49 goals in 48 Championship league appearances to date. Though Manchester City fans were unimpressed with Haaland last time out, saying that he can be very inconsistent.
Statistic Erling Haaland in the UCL Gareth Bale in the UCL
Games 48 66
Goals 49 22
Assists 5 17
But Bale obviously won the Champions League four more times than Haaland has so far. And Haaland is a striker to whereas Bale was almost always used as a winger. Though the two certainly make the debate for Europe’s best and most exciting footballs of the 21st Century.