Lineker, Shearer, Kane or Himself? Wayne Rooney Names ‘England’s Greatest Striker Ever’

Wayne Rooney gave a fascinating answer when discussing who was a better player out of Harry Kane and himself. The pair are both recognised as two of England’s finest ever footballers, and rank alongside the likes of Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker as the greatest Three Lions strikers of all time.

Rooney was his nation’s all-time top goalscorer with 53 goals in 120 appearances, but Kane has since smashed his record, now sitting on 74 goals in 109 appearances for England. That said, it’s not a clear-cut answer as to which player was better, with the former Manchester United man achieving more at club level – winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League – than the Bayern Munich ace, whose one Bundesliga title is his greatest club career achievement so far.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, Rooney explained his true feelings on Kane, praising the player in no uncertain terms.

Rooney: ‘Kane is the Greatest Ever England Number Nine’

Rooney explained how Kane had been ‘clever’ to maintain his goal-scoring prowess, even as he slows down a little, now into his 30s. Of the Bayern star, he began:

“He’s developed that over the last few years. He’s a clever lad Harry and he knows he’s never been the quickest but I think he’s lost a little bit of sharpness. He scored I don’t know how many goals last season for Bayern. He’s a goalscorer, he’s clinical but he’s clever in terms of the positions he’s picking up.”

He then went on to compare Kane with Italian legend Francesco Totti, Rooney described, before insisting that the 32-year-old is England’s greatest ever striker:

After making such a bold claim, Ferdinand then asked Rooney to confirm if he felt Kane was the better player. However, the 39-year-old said it wasn’t as simple as that:

Elaborating on how being ‘nastier’ helped him achieve greater heights than Kane, Rooney said: “It gives you that edge. That’s probably the reason he stayed at Tottenham for so long.

“You want to come out (of) your comfort zone. You want to go and try a different club to try and be successful. I’m delighted he’s won the league in Germany but just that little switch (is missing).”

It might sound contradictory, but Rooney’s answers has a fair bit of logic to it. The simple goalscoring stats prove Kane is very much England’s greatest ever striker, but when looking at things in a more holistic manner, it’s also fair to say Rooney was probably a better overall player, as evidenced by the success he had at Manchester United.