NEVER ONE FOR hyperbole, Alex Ferguson has compered his in-form forward, Wayne Rooney, to the greatest player ever to play the beautiful game.
Rooney’s incredible start to the season – 10 goals in six games for United and England – has prompted the Old Trafford chief to draw parallels with Pele.
Ferguson told the press pack in Lisbon, where as United prepare to face Benfica tonight: “He looks like he is the best British player so far. But he doesn’t look like a British player but an Argentinian or Brazilian.
“I think he’s a typical British player, but there have been British players over the last few years, maybe for the last decades who have similar great qualities that makes them great players, whether it’s a Gascoigne, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law.
“The similarities are that the boy has great courage, he wants to play all the time, he has incredible stamina.
“These are added extras to the talent he has. If you look at Pele for instance, he was a very aggressive attacker also who could look after himself, so can Rooney.
“They have similarities that way — strength, speed, determination, but he’s white, completely white.”
