Diego Forlan writes a weekly column for The National, appearing each Friday. The former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid striker has been the top scorer in Europe twice and won the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup. Forlan's column is written with the assistance of European football correspondent Andy Mitten.
I missed playing alongside Wayne Rooney by a couple of weeks. I left Manchester United in 2004 and Wayne arrived a few weeks later.
I did play against him in one reserve game at Everton when it was clear he was their best player and had a magnificent future ahead of him.
He was 16 and so powerful, yet really intelligent in the runs that he made. He had the nous of a much older footballer.
Young talents are usually still missing something; Rooney had everything. He was very English in his style, too: aggressive, a fighter. He was like a South American street footballer.
A lot of players do not fulfil their potential but Rooney has. He became a world-class footballer, one who is often more respected outside his home country. In England, while he is popular for breaking scoring records for United and the national team, he can divide opinion.
People are often harder on their own compatriots. I am convinced that history will remember him as a fantastic footballer.
At his peak, Rooney was one of the best strikers in the world. I saw that as a fellow striker who played with some of the best goalscorers.
In Spain, Italy and Uruguay, we spoke of him very positively, as the star for United, even if the England team could be very disappointing. But Rooney is a modern-day great, one of the players from his generation who will be most remembered.
__________________________________
Read more from Diego Forlan
■ Dimitri Payet: More than one version of the truth in football
■ Playing Liverpool: 14 years on, United fans still chant my name
■ Jose Mourinho: In the process of returning the glory days to United
__________________________________
I saw some of the compilations of his finest goals that have been going around online this week when he scored his 250th United goal. They reminded me just how good he has been, especially when he was at his peak.
There is one goal where Rooney, Park Ji-sung and Nani break on a counter-attack against Arsenal, with Rooney at full pace. It is a magnificent counter- attacking goal and it was in a very important game, the Uefa Champions League semi-final at Arsenal.
Rooney had won the European Cup the previous year. He has won five Premier League medals. He won the FA Cup. He scored the goal which made United the world champions in 2008.
The three difficult years at Old Trafford after Alex Ferguson left have not helped Rooney’s career, though he was the club’s best player in the matches I saw under David Moyes.
Rooney’s game has changed and it would have been better for him to be transitioned into a new position. Ferguson successfully transitioned players into different roles: Paul Scholes moved from a No 10 to a metronome midfielder; Roy Keane from a box-to-box player to a midfield general who controlled the game and sat in front of defenders.
I know they did not always see eye-to-eye, but Ferguson could have changed Rooney’s game and given him the necessary guidance and stability. Moyes and Louis van Gaal could have done that, too, but they were under immediate pressure to succeed and they needed Rooney to still be the attacker he was in his pomp.
He was tried in different roles and, because he is a selfless player who will put the team first, he did not object, but it has had mixed results.
Playing in a team undergoing lots of changes in a short space of time has been difficult for a lot of United’s players. Most of them have left, but Rooney has stayed and he is the club captain.
Look at it another way. Most clubs do not have a manager like Ferguson with the luxury of being at the helm for so long. And because of the changes in managers, who have different opinions and styles or the changing economic patterns at a club, most players do not have the luxury of being at one of the best clubs in the world for more than 10 years.
But the very best do.
Rooney has stayed at a top club, just as Lionel Messi has stayed at Barcelona or Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid, because they are so important to the team.
That is now changing and Jose Mourinho has increasingly used Rooney as a substitute.
Can he carry on at United? His rate of scoring has slowed this season. He was not United’s top scorer last season and he is no longer a guaranteed starter, but as we saw against Stoke City last week he is still capable of magic moments.
Whatever happens, his record of 320 goals in 741 professional games for Everton, Manchester United and England is incredible. He has broken records at a United, probably the biggest club in the world, and he took to that big stage immediately even as a teenager. He has done it. He will be remembered as one of United’s greatest players.
But while he has always played in England, as English players tend to do because they have the most competitive and lucrative league, I would recommend playing in more than one country. My own experiences have been enriching, not just for football reasons, but life reasons, too.
The people you meet, the cities you get to know, the languages you learn – it can be positive for a player and his family, and I say that as someone who has played in eight countries.
There is still a lot of football left in Rooney. He might not be at United when he is 35, but he can still be playing football to a high level, still contributing and winning matches. And then, when he stops playing, he can look back on a fantastic career where his dreams came true.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
