Wayne Rooney has named the one manager he wished he played under and revealed the legendary boss even tried to sign him.
Rooney, just 16-years-old at the time, burst onto the scene following his famous strike against Arsenal in a Premier League fixture.
He continued to enhance his reputation at Everton before Manchester United swooped in and secured his services after splashing out £25.6 million.
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Rooney went onto enjoy an iconic career at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League during a trophy-laden spell.
With 253 goals across all competitions to his name, Rooney is Man United's all-time leading scorer.
But things could have turned out very differently had he made another move after rising to fame at Everton.
Newcastle United were also interested in signing Rooney and tabled a £20 million bid, which was rejected.
Newcastle went to extreme lengths to acquire him from Everton, with Alan Shearer and then-manager Sir Bobby Robson speaking directly to the player.
Rooney ultimately turned down the advances from Shearer and Robson but said it would've been great to have played under the late, great gaffer.
Speaking on Amazon Prime ahead of Arsenal's Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven, he revealed: "There was interest from Newcastle United when I was at Everton, I was 18 years of age. I actually spoke to Alan Shearer as well, spoke to Bobby. It probably put a bit more pressure on Manchester United to sign me.
"He was such a gentleman and it would’ve been great to play for him. I wanted the number nine (shirt), Shearer wouldn’t give me it!"
After snubbing a move to Newcastle, Rooney enjoyed 13 seasons at Man United, becoming a club legend following the trophies he inspired them to and his iconic goal-scoring exploits.