5 of the best Manchester United players in the last 10 years

#2 Wayne Rooney

Wayne gave his all for the United cause and became the record goalscorer for the club

For most United fans, Wayne Rooney’s best years came in the first decade of the century. Signed as the brightest prospect in England at that time, Rooney took the league by storm.

He developed an exciting attacking partnership with other forwards as Manchester United scored goals for fun. His first six years for United will always be memorable for the fans. However, things were not the same once the decade turned.

There were rumors in 2010 that Rooney wanted to leave the club and had rejected contract renewal offers. His opinion was that the club was not showing enough ambition. He wanted the club to sign Mesut Ozil who had joined Real Madrid that summer.

His situation at the club came under scrutiny with even Sir Alex accepting that Rooney wanted to leave Manchester United. Offers were pouring in from all over England; most notably from Chelsea who were keen to acquire his services.

However, things settled once he signed a new contract, which actually made him the highest paid player in England.

However, Wazza lost a lot of respect from fans as he was seen as a moneyman whose complaints ended as soon as he was offered a lucrative deal.

At around the same time, his personal life was exposed and Rooney was accused of cheating on his wife. With all the media attention and deal issues, things were not going well for the star man at Old Trafford.

However, as champions often do, Wayne Rooney bounced back. He came up with decent figures thereafter though his role was reduced by Fergie in some of the games.

As said by Sir Alex himself, Wayne Rooney never had the physical prowess and fitness of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo that would have allowed him to continue to dominate in his 30s. He began playing as a midfielder in some of the games and his goal-scoring returns suffered.

After Louis Van Gaal took over, Wayne Rooney endured a very frustrating time at the club. Even under Jose Mourinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic played as the sole striker while Rooney was used sparingly. This eventually saw him leaving for Everton.

Despite every drawback, the passion, and desire that Wazza displayed everytime he took to the pitch was incredible. He is truly one of the greatest legends of modern day football for Manchester United.