Manchester United fans in Nigeria have heaped praise on Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, who joined boyhood club Everton on July 9, but insist they won’t miss the England captain.
The 31-year-old secured a switch back to Goodison Park, 13 years after his transfer to United as an 18-year-old.
The fans spoke in glowing terms about Rooney’s achievements at Old Trafford, which included winning the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, five EPL titles, one FA Cup, three Football League Cup, four Community Shield and the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as breaking Bobby Charlton’s record as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“Rooney was a leader. Sir Alex (Ferguson) gave him the captain’s armband and it was a great decision because it helped kill his temperament. He became a leader, a winner and he led by example as United and England captain,” sports presenter Godwin Enakhena said.
“Again, he was also influential and led the dressing room well. Even when he was mostly on the bench when Jose Mourinho came in, you could see that he always wanted to win.”
Silverbird Television correspondent Blessing Nwosu agrees with Enakhena.
She said, “The first season Rooney was made captain was his best time at United; he became very responsible and he could stick out his neck for the team.
Another fan Biola Kazeem recalls his best memories of the 2009/10 Premier League player of The Year.
Kazeem said, “Scoring a hat-trick on his debut versus Fenerbahce (in a 6–2 home win in the UEFA Champions League) at 18 was amazing and I won’t forget his bicycle kick goal against rivals Manchester City in the 2010/11 season, which sealed a 2-1 win.”
Fred Oboh described Rooney as “a great player.”
“Every United fan respected him so much because he gave everything to the team,” Oboh, a businessman who has followed United for over two decades, stated.
But the fans all agreed that Rooney is a far cry from the lad who turned goalsscoring to an art at Old Trafford, saying they won’t miss him.
“He scored 25 goals in three seasons; for a striker, that’s not good at all. I thought he should have left about three seasons ago,” Kazeem stated.
Enakhena added, “It was obvious that Rooney was not in Mourinho’s plans, but because of his legendary status, United wanted him to jump rather than push him. It was over for him at Old Trafford and I’m happy he’s gone back home.”
Nwosu believes the four-time England Player of The Year winner played his best football at United.
“I doubt if he could give back to Everton now, what he gave to United; he’s played his best football for The Reds, and you can’t get that anywhere again.”
Also, Oboh stated, “Rooney was no longer the goals scoring machine and midfield dynamo we used to know before he left Old Trafford.”
