Wayne Rooney: Defenders now not as good as in my day

Former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has played with and against his fair share of top defenders.Having spent 13 years at a United side who were successful both domestically and in Europe, Rooney came up against the best centre-backs the continent has to offer.But on the latest edition of BBC podcast The Wayne Rooney Show, the forward says today’s defenders do not compare to those he faced during his 19-year senior career.”In this current age, the centre-backs are nowhere near as good as the ones I played against,” the 39-year-old said.Out of the current Premier League crop, he cites Arsenal’s William Saliba and Gabriel as the best pair.”Saliba and Gabriel complement each other really well,” he said.”You can see them leading and talking, that is what you need, you need talkers and leaders as centre-backs.”Would I put them at the same level as players I have played against? No I wouldn’t. But they are possibly the best pairing in this day.”Saliba signed a new contract with the Gunners this week and Rooney said it is “huge” that manager Mikel Arteta has managed to keep hold of the Frenchman.”That helps with maybe other players following suit and players coming in in January and next summer,” he said.”When you know there is stability, that helps everyone out.”On the latest episode of the podcast, Rooney ranks the top five defenders he has faced.He was quick to praise Manchester United duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic and said both would have been included in his overall list of top five defenders.But this list comprises solely of the top five he played against in the Champions League.



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