Wayne Rooney's departure after 13 years at Old Trafford seems the perfect time to end all debate and simply applaud one of the best players United have ever seen.
No cult hero, no homegrown prodigy, no imported genius has ever left a bigger mark on the Old Trafford record books.
His historic haul of 253 goals is only eight fewer than George Best and Eric Cantona combined, and it took 44 years for Sir Bobby's seemingly unbreakable record to be beaten.
In an era where one-club longevity is increasingly rare, Rooney's tally will go unsurpassed for a long, long time.
He's not only played a pivotal part in one of the richest periods in United's history, he's also dragged us out of the dark and towards the light in the turbulent post-Ferguson era.
The FA Cup success under Louis van Gaal in 2016 - with Wazza man of the match in the final - brought the winning habit back to Old Trafford and completed his collection of domestic honours.
His first season alone gave us enough memories to last a lifetime.
The debut hat-trick, the anger-fuelled volley against Newcastle, his first winner at Anfield and the unstoppable human wrecking ball display at Highbury.
A heroic performance in the FA Cup against the Gunners somehow went unrewarded but he was picking up weekly man of the match awards.
In his third season, a certain Cristiano was now on board and Rooney began to share the spotlight in terrifying tandem with his young colleague.
The following two campaigns yielded Premier League titles, and Rooney's selfless willingness to operate out wide allowed CR7 to become one of the modern game's great centre-forwards.
Following Cristiano's departure to Real Madrid in 2009, Rooney took on the role of the responsible, line-leading goalscorer.
The teenage tyro who made us dream of future glories grew into the battle-hardened pro to make them a reality.
Since then, he's cracked in the greatest goal Old Trafford has ever witnessed, smashed home vital title-winning efforts, scored in a Champions League final and won the Europa League to complete the set of major honours.
Rooney top scored in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2014-15, only slipping down the scoring charts amid Jose's process of reinventing a United side in need of remodelling.
The time is right for Rooney's tenure at Old Trafford to end - he is no longer the figurehead he once was and is determined to remain a focal point.
The moment is not only right for goodbye, but for a full and proper appreciation of a magnificent player whose Old Trafford legend will remain untouched by time.
No comments:
Post a Comment