Monday, February 24, 2014

It's even harder to like Rooney now


Wayne Rooney can play, there's no doubt about that. Is he in the same conversation as Messi, Ronaldo or Zlatan? Not in a million years. And even if he was, he just comes across as the type of guy that you'd struggle to really like, yet alone love as a footballer.

Does he deserve almost half a million dollars a week? No, no-one does, but that's a different argument.

Rooney comes across as a petulant, spoiled kid who thinks he's bigger than everyone. He can say he didn't ask to leave Manchester United, but he probably did. Fergie has no real reason to lie. And now David Moyes knows he desperately needs him to try and rebuild Manchester United around. Wayne and his agent held all the cards, as you can just imagine Jose Mourinho buying him just to spite United and their board. He wants to be the main man, and believes everyone should treat him that way.

The same with England. He mocked the fans for booing him and the England team after the 0-0 draw with Algeria at the World Cup in 2010. He doesn't care about what people think, paying to bang 50 year-old grandmothers while married proves that.

But as I said, Wayne can play. His performances for England in Euro 2004 were fantastic, some of his goals are the best I've ever seen, and he's won just about every domestic honor a player can win.

Yet, there's a look in his eye as he signs that huge contract. He's got everything he ever dreamed of. He obviously cares about winning, making money and being a big shot, but you don't sense he really connects with real life. Maybe he never had to experience that as he made his professional debut at 16 - yeah, you can say he had a tough time growing up in Liverpool, but who doesn't have a tough life growing up?

It's unlikely he'll ever play for another club team and will go down as a United 'legend' as he'll no doubt be their record all-time scorer (something he's likely to be with England too), but I'd bet most fans - United and otherwise - will never rate him as a great of the game. It's not because he's not talented, he's just very hard to like.  

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