Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has picked Ronaldo Nazario as the greatest wonderkid, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The English player snubbed the two 'GOATs' of the sport in the first round of his knock out questionnaire.
In a Daily Mail reel, Rooney Ronaldo over Lamine Yamal in the first round, with Michael Owen beating Messi, and Kylian Mbappe getting picked over Cristiano. The Englishman also snubbed himself in the final question, picking Neymar as the better wonderkid.
Ronaldo beat out Owen in the semifinal, with Mbappe getting the preference over Neymar on the other side. Rooney was quick to name his winner, picking the Brazilian legend as the all-time greatest wonderkid and saying:
"R9. Such an icon of a player and especially when he was a youngster as well."
Ronaldo Nazario was picked as the greatest player of all time by Jose Mourinho during a conversation with LiveScore. The legendary manager said that the Brazilian's career was affected by injuries, but still managed to stand out from the time he was a teenager and said:
“When he was at Barcelona with Bobby Robson, I realised that he was the best player I’d ever seen take to the field. Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible."
“Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had longer careers. They have remained at the top every day for 15 years. However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo.”
Rooney was in the news earlier this month, after Cristiano Ronaldo responded to his opinion of preferring Lionel Messi over his former Manchester United teammate.
Wayne Rooney justifies opinion on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Wayne Rooney appeared on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast earlier this year and revealed he preferred Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo. The English player said that he does not strong grudges against his former teammate, but enjoys watching the Argentine icon and said:
"People think I hate him [Ronaldo]. I love him. I think he's an absolute genius and what he's doing is incredible. I love Cristiano and playing with him. I don't think people realise actually how close me and him were. I think just because I've said that I think Messi is better than Ronaldo, people think I don't like Cristiano."
"I absolutely love Messi, love watching him play and that was the only reason because I think Messi had a little bit more in terms of how he played and taking players on and whatever. Ronaldo's a killer and people think because I've said Messi is better than Ronaldo, I don't like him or speak down on him."
Earlier this month, Cristiano Ronaldo said that a FIFA World Cup trophy should not be used in the GOAT debate with Lionel Messi.