Sir Geoff Hurst does not think that Wayne Rooney is worthy of comparison with Sir Bobby Charlton.
Rooney is chasing Charlton’s England scoring record and is only one goal shy of his tally of 49.
Although two will be his target, a single goal in Saturday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against San Marino would take Rooney level with the World Cup winner after the same number of international caps (106).
Hurst, England’s hat-trick hero in 1966 and Charlton’s former Three Lions teammate, stresses that he feels Rooney is “terrific” but not in the same class as his fellow Manchester United legend.
“Rooney’s a true great,” Hurst is quoted by BBC Sport as saying. “But there is a little way to go, when you make comparisons as players.” Figure-wise, of course, if he goes above him it’s a great achievement, no question at all.
“The only thing I would say is if you’re making comparisons, Wayne is a front player, whereas Bobby Charlton scored 49 goals as a midfield player. It just shows you the astonishing ability of Sir Robert Charlton.
“It’s not only their ability, it’s what they achieved in the game, and of course Bobby Charlton was the member of a World Cup winning team, which Wayne’s not yet. There’s that differential there, which I would always argue.”
Rooney is also aiming to surpass Charlton as United’s all-time leading scorer. The 29-year-old has 233 goals in 484 appearances for the Red Devils compared to Charlton’s 249 in 758.
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