5 players who deserve more respect

#2 Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is one of the best English players in recent years

Many believe that Wayne Rooney is overrated and never lived up to expectations, whereas others prefer to use his individual records to back-up their arguments about how influential he has been throughout his career.

While he is admittedly no longer the player he once was, Rooney continues to show signs of brilliance every now and then. His legacy is adorned with glorious moments, having won the English Premier League five times under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as the UEFA Champions League back in 2008 when he formed a deadly duo with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney was voted the PFA Fans' Player of the Year twice, in 2006 and 2010, when he had his best season ever, scoring 34 goals across all competitions. In addition to that, the Englishman is the highest goal-scorer in the history of Manchester United with 253 goals, and the second in EPL history with 208 hits, just behind Alan Shearer at 283.

Despite not winning any major trophy with England since his debut in 2003, Rooney still managed to become the leading goal-scorer in the history of the national team, finding the net on 53 separate times, in 119 appearances for The Three Lions.

Rooney may not be valued as highly as he deserves to be, essentially due to his drop in form in recent years, but he remains one of the best players in the history of English football.