Courtesy-Independent.ie
It feels like a decade ago that Wayne Rooney made his debut as a 16-year-old. He rose through the Everton ranks before joining Manchester United in the fall of 2004. In the ensuing ten years, he has established himself as one of United’s most successful goal scorers. He is on track to retire as the club’s top marksman after agreeing on a new long-term contract earlier this year.
He is now closing in on England’s goal-scoring record, which is currently held by Sir Bobby Charlton, at the age of 28.
The following is a list of Rooney’s most impressive numbers.
1. When he was younger, he was the Premier League’s Youngest Goal-scorer.
Rooney became the Premier League’s youngest goal-scorer when he struck for Everton against Arsenal on October 19, 2002. He netted Everton’s second goal in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal while he was 16 years and 360 days old, ending Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten streak. It’s a streak that James Milner and James Vaughan have since broken. Rooney, who is just 28 years old, is also among United’s top 20 appearance builders.
2. He has 441 appearances for United, putting him 19th on the list behind Gary Pallister and ahead of Jack Silcock. But he also has a long way to go to catch Ryan Giggs, the current record holder. For Unit, the current temporary boss has made 962 appearances.
3. In ten years at Old Trafford, Rooney has 214 goals for United. He is still third all out in goals scored for the club, just forward of Jack Rowley but behind Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton.
If he scores 36 more goals for United, he will break Charlton’s record of 249.
By the end of next season, he could have reached his target.
4. Rooney has scored more goals for United than anybody else against Aston Villa.
In all tournaments, he has made 21 contributions against Villa, scoring 13 goals.
He has 12 goals in 12 games toward Fulham and 11 goals in 11 games against Manchester City and West Ham. With 11 goals against City, he is the most consistent goal-scorer in the Manchester derby’s history.
5. Rooney is one of the 18 players in United history to score four goals in a single match. In a 4-0 victory over Hull City at Old Trafford in January 2010, he scored all four goals. He is also the last player in United history to accomplish the feat. He has six hat-tricks for United, in addition to scoring four goals in a game once. The most recent came in September 2011 at the Reebok Stadium versus Bolton.