Wayne Rooney has named his ultimate Manchester United XI ahead of Derby County’s FA Cup clash with the Red Devils at Pryde Park. The England international spent 13 years at Old Trafford but is determined to knock his old side out of the competition tonight.
Rooney was a big hit for Manchester United during his time at Old Trafford, scoring 253 goals to become the club’s all-time leading scorer.
And now, this evening, he’s determined to put his old side to the sword when Derby host the Red Devils in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Ahead of the game, Rooney has told TalkSPORT his ultimate United XI.
And he’s made a controversial choice when it comes to who partners him up front, choosing Carlos Tevez over club heroes Ruud van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Dimitar Berbatov.
Van Nistelrooy was Rooney’s first partner when he joined and the duo played together between 2004 and 2006.
Saha then became his strike partner, with the France international managing to oust Van Nistelrooy from Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting XI.
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He’s named Edwin van der Sar in goal and the Dutchman is commonly considered as one of the club’s best-ever goalkeepers.
Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra make up Rooney’s back four.
In midfield, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes would pull the strings.
That’s with Ryan Giggs on the left wing and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo on the right.
And Rooney and Tevez would then make up his attack.
Meanwhile, speaking ahead of today’s FA Cup showdown, Rooney opened up on his topsy-turvy relationship with Ferguson during his time at the club.
“I always remember as a kid, every half-time, arguing with him, constantly,” Rooney recalled.
“I remember thinking, ‘Why does he keep having a go at me? There’s players far worse than I’ve been!’
“Then the older you get, the more you realise why he’s doing it. He’s obviously aiming at other players who can’t take it.
“He would have a go at me for dribbling. I very rarely dribble… well, I dribbled a bit more then… but [with] Nani, it would just maybe trigger something in [his] head, thinking, ‘Oh maybe I shouldn’t dribble as much.’
“He knew how to get that message across without losing it.
“If he spoke to Nani the way he spoke to me, he’d break down in tears. He wouldn’t be able to go back out.”