Wayne Rooney says striker who scored 78 goals for Tottenham was a better finisher than him

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In a recent interview, Wayne Rooney admitted a former Spurs striker was a better goalscorer than him.

Rooney is one of the best strikers in the history of English football and yet, he still isn’t always viewed in that light.

The former England international is the current all-time record goalscorer for Manchester United and was for a time England’s too, until Harry Kane took that crown.

So when he speaks about other forwards, it’s certainly worth a listen and he has just admitted a former Tottenham striker was a better goalscorer than him – high praise indeed.

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Wayne Rooney says Gary Lineker was a better goalscorer than him

In a recent interview with BBC Sport, Rooney played a game where he had to stay silent until the reporter named a better goalscorer than himself.

Rooney stayed silent for quite a while as the reporter reeled off; Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Olivier Giroud, Fernando Torres, Miroslav Klose, Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland.

It then came to Gary Lineker and he opted for the former Spurs striker, who netted 78 times across 137 appearances.

Though, it looked like he was close to speaking when Didier Drogba’s name was mentioned.

Wayne Rooney being modest

Perhaps Rooney was being a little modest in his answer, as not many would suggest Lineker was the better goalscorer.

Though, admittedly, Rooney was more involved in the playmaking side of the game towards the latter stages of his career, which may tip people’s opinions the other way.

But certainly, for much of his early career, Rooney would be hard to top with perhaps only Alan Shearer the obvious one who would many would consider the greatest striker in English football history.