Wayne Rooney says only four Man Utd Champions League winners would make it in Man City team
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Wayne Rooney has risked angering Manchester United fans once again, by claiming only four of their 2008 team would get in the current Manchester City side.
What a terrible end of the season it could be for anyone from the red half of Manchester, including those who aren't actually from any half of the city.
Their loss to West Ham United on Sunday delved their chances of qualifying for the Champions League into more doubt, following last Thursday's loss to Brighton.
Meanwhile, City's win over Leeds United took them another step closer to equalling United's Treble campaign from the 1998/99 season.
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To earn that incredible achievement, City will have to go through Real Madrid in the Champions League, starting with Tuesday's semi-final first leg.
Whilst some might suggest caution when it comes to facing the 14 times European champions, Rooney believes that Pep Guardiola's side are going to 'destroy' the defending champions.
That prediction didn't exactly enamour United's all time top scorer to the fans, and now he's claimed only four of the team, that included him, from 2008, when Sir Alex Ferguson's side won a league and European double, would get in City's current side.
"Could the 2008 United team have competed with City? Head to head, we’d have had a good chance but over a 38-game season they would have had the edge," the DC United manager wrote in his column in the Times.
"I think we’d have been similar to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, able to beat them in one-off games but usually just a bit behind them in the final league table.
"There were players in our team who would have got into this City side. Paul Scholes would have been perfect, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic too. I believe I would have fitted into it as well — and I would have loved to play with Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland."
Perhaps most amusingly, Rooney left out Cristiano Ronaldo, which might not be a surprise considering their recent relationship. The Portugal star scored 42 goals in all competitions for United that season, including 31 in the league.
Those figures seemed almost unthinkable at the time, but Erling Haaland has completely blown them away in his first season in the league, completely disrespecting the establishment.
Edwin van der Sar might actually be the player who Rooney has most obviously missed out, considering that Ederson can sometimes be criticised.
As of now, Rooney and his teammates have still done something City as a club have not, winning the Champions League, but it could all change.
They may have won a Treble themselves, if not for a loss to Portsmouth in the FA Cup, in a game that they certainly should have won.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Football, Wayne Rooney, Manchester City, Manchester United, Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Paul Scholes, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo
