Few players saw Wayne Rooney develop into a star more closely than Rio Ferdinand.
One of Wayne Rooney’s former Man United teammates had an interesting choice of words in explaining how he became one of the best strikers in English history.
According to the Metro, ex-Man United defender Rio Ferdinand revealed that Wayne Rooney’s desire to become a better scoring forward led him to develop the “selfish” attitude needed to get to the right level.
“Rooney has turned himself around from the street football player we all saw in his early years to someone who is seeking out record-breaking milestones,” Ferdinand wrote on Facebook. “He wasn’t a natural goalscorer, but wanted to be involved in everything from playing 30-yard diagonal passes to the rough and tumble chasing a player 40 yards to win the ball back.”
Ferdinand, who played for Man United from 2002 to 2014, capturing 6 Premier League titles was in his third year with the team when Rooney was a 19-year-old wonderkid out of Everton. The two would play together for many years at Man United and for the England national team.
Ferdinand later wrote, “To say he became obsessed would be far-fetched, but his mindset had changed to that of a goalscorer.
“Goalscorers are selfish. Wayne was known as an unselfish team player for many years. But goalscorers have to be selfish to be successful and Wayne became more like that.”
Wayne Rooney became England’s all-time leading scorer with his 50th career goal on a penalty shot against Switzerland to break the mark of 49 previously held by Sir Bobby Charlton.
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