Wayne Rooney's true worth as a player has not been properly appreciated, according to England football great Gary Lineker.
Gary Lineker
Wayne Rooney's true worth as a player has not been properly appreciated, according to England football great Gary Lineker.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rooney has looked rejuvenated since returning to Everton, the club that nurtured his talent when he was a teenager, after becoming an unhappy-looking peripheral figure at Man United under Jose Mourinho. He scored in both his league appearances for Everton — including on Monday's against Manchester City when he joined Alan Shearer as the only players to score 200 Premier League goals.
Yesterday, Rooney called time on his international career, and Lineker — who also starred for both Everton and England — said Rooney should figure among the top 10 in British football's hall of fame. "He probably is," Lineker said, referring to whether Rooney is under-appreciated. "He'd be [one of Britain's] Top 10 ever — he's had a marvellous career. He's been a great player for English football."
Lineker, who scored 48 times in his 80 international appearances, said Rooney had too often during his international career carried the burden of being the national side's only world-class player. "England went through a time of being bereft of world-class talent — it was just him. He's gone to play in tournaments, sometimes not fully fit, sometimes fit, in a team that's not really good enough, and he's suffered a little bit from that," said Lineker, 56, who like Rooney also failed to land a major global trophy with England. He felt it's a case of what might have been if Rooney wasn't hurt at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Rooney scored four times before breaking a bone in his foot. "In Portugal. We might have gone on to win if he hadn't got injured, we were looking so good."
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
