Wayne Rooney snubbed Lionel Messi when picking the one player he wishes he played with

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney didn't hesitate to snub Lionel Messi when picking his dream teammate.

Having won 17 trophies and made 500 appearances for United, Rooney is widely considered to one of the Premier League's greatest-ever players.

During his 13 hugely successful years at Old Trafford, the Englishman played alongside some of the best to ever play for the club, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Roy Keane.

While representing both club and country, Rooney also got the opportunity to play against some serious names in football from across the top leagues in Europe and abroad.

But there's one player that stood out among the rest as the most impressive, and Rooney has since revealed that they are the one player that he wished he would have had the chance to play alongside during his career.

Wayne Rooney faced off against Lionel Messi three times during his career. (Image: Getty)

Despite the fact that he faced off against Messi, who is largely considered to be the best player of all time, on three occasions, Rooney snubbed the Barcelona legend when naming the one star he wish he had played with.

Instead, Rooney opted for Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane, praising the midfielder for his attitude on the pitch, as well as his contributions to the scoresheet.

Back in May 2024, while speaking on The Overlap – a show brought to you by Sky Bet, Rooney explained: "I wish I played with Zinedine Zidane, just how good he was. [Lionel] Messi is the best of all time but to play with Zidane.

"He’s cool, calm, plays with both feet, goals and assists.”

Across his playing career, the Frenchman scored 125 goals and assisted 141 across 689 for the likes of Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Madrid.

Internationally, Zidane played 108 times for France, scoring 31 goals and assisting 29, playing a key role in his nation's victory in the 1998 World Cup.

Rooney shared the pitch with Zidane once during his career. (Image: Getty)

Following his retirement from football in 2006, Zidane returned to the pitch as a manager, taking charge at Madrid in two separate spells, winning a hat-trick of Champions League titles.

It remains unclear when or if Zidane plans to return to management following his departure from Madrid in May 2021, but he has been strongly linked with replacing France manager Didier Deschamps at some point in the future.