Wayne Rooney has named a “frustrating” player as his worst teammate since his days at Manchester United.
Rooney reveals “worst” teammate from his male UTD days
Rooney spent 13 seasons at Old Trafford and established himself as a club legend by earning a whopping 253 goals and 142 assists in 559 games.
United’s ability to maintain such a level of success suggests that Sir Alex Ferguson made almost mistakes in the transfer market, but the legendary manager was widely regarded as one of his worst signatures with Cleaverson, who arrived from Atletico Paranaence in 2003.
The Brazilian made 20 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils before being sold to Besikutas, and the midfielder joined the list of signatures that didn’t work out, including Diego Forlan, Bebe and Mark Bosnich.
In fact, Rooney once told Alan Shearer how mad he was about being ready to be taken in his place with Newcastle United. “I was off P*****. You can see it in my face. Then Cleverson warmed up with the touchline and was ready to come for me.
Despite clearly not valuing the midfielder, the 39-year-old once named another former Man United star his worst teammate, saying:
“My worst teammate – there’s far more to do than you think. On the pitch, the toughest one was Nani. He was frustrated to play.”
Nani’s record at Man Utd
In many ways, it seems a bit harsh that Nani was named Rooney’s worst teammate. This is given that Winger’s goals and support records in his first five campaigns at Old Trafford are in fact very impressive.
season | Premier League appearances | The contribution of goals |
2007-08 | 26 | 11 |
2008-09 | 13 | 4 |
2009-10 | twenty three | 12 |
2010-11 | 33 | 26 |
2011-12 | 29 | 18 |
To be fair, the 112th Portugal International boiled towards the end of his time at Man United and failed to score in the 2013-14 campaign before signing Sports CP, but he enjoyed a successful career at Old Trafford and won four Premier League titles.
The Portuguese winger also won the iconic Red Devils goal, finding the back of the net 41 times, and celebrated it with his trademark backflip celebration.
To be fair, his longevity, now 41, is probably why Rooney named him his worst teammate. It was easy to forget players like Cleaverson and Bosnitch, so it was shipped fairly quickly after failing to adapt.
Ironically, Nani is perhaps one of the best players on the Man United team these days, with Reuben Amorim’s team having a disastrous start to their Premier League campaign, scoring just four points from the opening of the four games, losing 3-0 to Manchester City.
