Published on 6/14/2026
Lionel Messi, the Argentine icon, who won the Ballon d’Or eight times, chose to tweet out of the blue when he was asked to evaluate the career of the England national team, which has been haunted by the curse of titles for six full decades. He revealed his technical evaluation of former English striker Wayne Rooney, describing him as “a player who appears once in a generation.”
In an interview with The Standard newspaper in 2015, Messi confirmed that Rooney possesses exceptional technical quality and physical strength that enabled him to excel in direct confrontations, noting that what distinguishes Rooney is his “high work rate” and his mentality that places the team’s success above personal numbers. Messi linked his personal philosophy to Rooney’s philosophy, stressing that records lose their value if they are not accompanied by achieving championships with the national team.
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Messi’s description came after the Manchester United striker became the all-time top scorer for the English national team, equaling the record set by Sir Bobby Charlton 45 years ago. It is true that this number was later broken by Harry Kane, but Messi’s statements still retain their value to this day.
Messi: Rooney is a generational phenomenon and no one is like him
“For me, Wayne Rooney is a once-in-a-generation player,” Messi said. “He is one of those special players who cannot be compared to anyone else.”
He added: “There are many distinguished players, but Ronnie has exceptional quality and technical ability, in addition to being one of the strongest players I have ever faced. There is no one like him.”
At the time of this interview, Rooney had just helped the Three Lions become the first team to qualify for Euro 2016. Messi also highlighted the Everton academy graduate’s team-first mentality as a key reason why he is such an awe-inspiring player. The Argentina and Barcelona star said at the time: “Rooney is a winning player. His focus will be solely on achieving success with England in the European Championship.”
He continued: “I have always said the same thing about myself and Argentina; the numbers of participation and goals do not mean anything unless you win titles.”
Record scorers
At the level of all-time top scorers for the England national team, Harry Kane tops the list with 79 goals in 114 matches, followed by Wayne Rooney in second place with 53 goals in 120 matches, then Sir Bobby Charlton with 49 goals in 106 matches, followed by Gary Lineker with 48 goals in 80 matches, and then Jimmy Greaves with 44 goals in 57 matches.
Journey under the guillotine of expectations
Rooney was a “legend” project since he stepped foot on Everton’s pitches, and when Sir Sven-Goran Eriksson compared him to “Pele” before Euro 2004, the young boy was put under unbearable pressure. But Rooney, in his own way, exceeded those expectations; He is the all-time leading scorer for Manchester United, winner of five league titles, and winner of the Champions League.
Beautiful conclusion
Euro 2004 remains the brightest flash in Rooney’s international career, a career that ended without him lifting the trophy with the Three Lions. Although history will always remember the failures of successive English generations, Rooney remains an exception. He is not only a historic scorer, but also the third most goalscorer for his country’s national team, with 21 assists, proving that “exception” is not always measured by titles, but rather by the size of the imprint left behind, which made even the “greatest person who touched the ball” raise his hat to him in appreciation.
