5 things that come to mind when you think of Manchester United

#3 Wayne Rooney

Rooney is Manchester United's leading goalscorer in all competitions

He was born a Scouser, but he will always be a Red Devil. Wayne Rooney played an integral part in Manchester United’s success, and turned out to be one of their best players in their history.

United signed Rooney for £25.6 million in 2004, which was a huge fee at the time, but it was an investment that certainly paid off. Furthermore, the fact that he was 18 raised even more eyebrows and made people worry, but as mentioned, he went on to become more than worth the fee.

The former United forward sparked his career in Manchester into life with a hat-trick on his debut, in Europe. He immediately showed maturity beyond his age with a magnificent performance, which also broke a record with him being the youngest to ever score a Champions League hat-trick.

From that moment on, Manchester United fans knew what they were witnessing, a true great in the making, and they were right.

Despite being pushed wide or played deeper on occasions to accommodate the likes of Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov or Robin van Persie, Rooney got into double figures every season for 11 straight seasons, with 27 being his highest tally for one season.

With those goals, Rooney would break the Manchester United all-time scoring record, and cement his place in their history.

He is, for certain, a player that springs to mind when you think of Manchester United.