Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and more: Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney builds his perfect player

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and more: Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney builds his perfect player

Manchester United all-time top-scorer Wayne Rooney has included attributes of his former Red Devils teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina captain Lionel Messi as he built his perfect footballer.

Rooney, the current coach of Championship outfit Plymouth Argyle, is a bonafide United legend, scoring a record 253 goals in 559 appearances between 2004 and 2017.

The former England international would subsequently return to his boyhood club Everton and also played at DC United. He was a player-manager at Derby County before delving full-time into management in January 2021.

As per BBC Sport (via CentreGoals), the Manchester United legend set about constructing the perfect footballer by incorporating attributes of players current and former.

Here’s how the entire interaction went, with Rooney picking Ronaldo for his goalscoring and Messi for his dribbling.

“Best finisher I’ve played against is probably Cristiano Ronaldo because he scored a lot of goals. He’s a really good finisher.”

“Best dribbler I’ve played against is Lionel Messi. He’s so hard to play against. He’s small, quick, keeps the ball very close to your feet and can make you look silly if you get too close.”

Rooney went with three of his former England teammates for best mentality, defender and footballing IQ:

“Best mentality of players I’ve played against: I think Gary Neville. Before he went to Manchester United’s first team, he wasn’t as talented as quite a few players, and that continued throughout his career. He was a fantastic footballer, and he was very driven, and his mentality was top-class.”

“Best defender I’ve played is John Terry. He wasn’t the quickest, but he read the game really well. Strong, good in the air, could score goals and liked to tackle.”

“Best footballing IQ: I’d have to say Paul Scholes. He just knew the game, read the game well, dictated games, could pass short, could pass long, could score goals. So everything about him really. His IQ is very high level.”

While Messi and Ronaldo are still playing, the three other aforementioned players are retired.

What’s next for Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and more: Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney builds his perfect player

Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina star Lionel Messi are set to be in international action this week. The 39-year-old Ronaldo is expected to lead out his Portugal team for their UEFA Nations League game with Poland in Warsaw on Saturday (October 12).

A day earlier, Messi is set to return to international duty since sustaining an ankle injury in the 2024 Copa America final win over Colombia when Argentina travel to Venezuela to continue their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

La Albiceleste, the defending champions, are two points clear at the top after eight games. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s Portugal have won their opening two Nations League games against Croatia and Iceland respectively.