In an exclusive interview with Manutd.com, Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has paid tribute to club and former international teammate Wayne Rooney. The duo have been playing together at club level for over ten years, with Rooney joining from Everton in 2004, and Carrick arriving from Tottenham Hotspur two years later, and the midfielder has lavished praise on United’s captain after Rooney became the club’s all-time top goalscorer this past weekend.
When it came to the subject of Rooney being properly appreciated, Carrick spoke bluntly on how the rules differ for him:
“Sometimes it can take until someone has finished their career to be fully appreciated. The reaction to him is so extreme in the media and around the world, one week he can go from being one of the best players in the world to the next week, if he has a not-so-good game, where people say he shouldn’t be at the club. That’s what he’s had to deal with for so long and that’s the nature of football. If you look at the bigger picture and look at him as a player, and what he’s achieved and what he’s brought to every team he’s played in every year, then it’s been incredible and maybe it won’t be until after he’s finished that people will sit down, look back and say ‘what a player he was’.”
Saturday’s goal against Stoke City was Rooney’s 250th in a red shirt, and meant he has finally overtaken Sir Bobby Charlton atop the club’s scoring charts.
