Former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has paid one Chelsea legend arguably the highest compliment by naming him in an ultimate XI alongside some of the game’s greatest ever players.
Chelsea have had some sensational footballers represent them down the years, including Ashley Cole, John Terry and Frank Lampard.
Rooney played alongside that trio when representing England and has named one of them in his ultimate XI.
Both Rooney and Lampard have spent time in the dugout as managers since retiring, with the latter currently at Coventry City. While they lost 3-1 to Sheffield United on Friday, Lampard has done a terrific job at Coventry, helping them climb into the play-off spots.
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney names Ashley Cole in ultimate XI alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo
Cole is probably the best left-back the Premier League has ever seen, while he won an incredible 107 caps for England.
It is not a complete shock, then, that Rooney chose him for the left-back spot in his ultimate XI, which also included Ballon d’Or winners Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.
The Blues may not have Cole today, but they still have a very good left-back in Marc Cucurella.
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Cucurella plays the role a lot differently to Cole, with the Spaniard expected to come infield as an inverted full-back. Whatever the case, Cucurella has been fantastic for Chelsea, even finding himself among the goals of late.
The 26-year-old scored in both of Chelsea’s last two league wins against Leicester City and Southampton.
It gave Cucurella the opportunity to do his penguin celebration, something he recently discussed.
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Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Wayne Rooney on taking a bullet for Ashley Cole
Rooney had another reason for including Cole in his ultimate XI, with the Chelsea legend being his best friend during their playing days.
The ex-United star even claimed that he would “take a bullet” for Cole in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Defending his former teammate in 2012, Rooney told the Daily Mail: “He’s nothing like what you guys think. Ash is a really sound guy and has been a proper friend to me. I’d take a bullet for him.”
Cole and Rooney could have actually been teammates at club level in 2013, but Chelsea were unable to convince United to sell their forward to them.