Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was quick to comment on some of his former Everton teammates early in his career.
Breaking through at the age of 16 at Goodison Park, scoring his first goal against Arsenal, Rooney became the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer in 2002.
Playing two full seasons with the Blues, he moved to join Man United in 2004, becoming the Red Devils’ top scorer with 253 goals.
The 37-year-old surprised fans though, admitting he was surprised at the low level of some of his Everton team-mates.
“It’s crazy how quickly things have changed. For me to enter with Duncan [Ferguson], [Alan] Stubbs – everyone I grew up watching,” he told Toffees TV.
“To then go play with them, train with them every day, so quickly I remember thinking, ‘That’s crap.’
“Obviously not all of them, but some of the players, I thought, ‘what’s going on here?’
“I couldn’t believe how bad some of them were. I remember thinking ‘I’m better than all these players’.
“It’s no disrespect to these players, but some of them just weren’t good enough and should never have played for Everton.”
The Man United star then joined his boyhood club in 2017 for a season before leaving for MLS and spending a spell at Derby County before becoming a manager.
Despite his ironic comments, Rooney is still considered a legend at Goodison Park.
After coming through the youth academy, he scored 17 goals in his first spell and then added 11 more to his tally in his second stint when he captained the team.
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