Ferguson: 'Rooney's scoring record may never be broken'

The legendary coach of Old Trafford believes that it is difficult for anyone to surpass the 250 goals that Wayne Rooney scored for Man Utd.

Wayne Rooney equalised for Man Utd at the end of the match against Stoke City last weekend. It was the 31-year-old striker's 250th goal for the Red Devils, surpassing the old record he shared with the legendary Bobby Charlton. Charlton, the 1966 World Cup winner, used the phrase "fantastic" to praise Rooney after he broke the record of 249 goals that had stood since 1973.

Ferguson is proud of the student he brought to Old Trafford. Photo: Internet.

Alex Ferguson also believes Rooney's scoring record for Man Utd will live on forever: "The record of 249 goals has lasted for 44 years. Even when Rooney joined Old Trafford, I could never imagine anyone would beat Bobby's record. So his record of 250 goals is outstanding."

Bobby Charlton needed 17 years from 1956 to 1973, with 758 appearances, to score 249 goals for Man Utd. Meanwhile, Rooney scored 250 goals in 13 years at Old Trafford and played 546 games.

Ferguson continued: “It’s amazing. He’s broken the record in 212 fewer games than Bobby. I don’t think anyone will ever surpass Rooney’s goalscoring record for Manchester United. I can’t say never, because you never say never in football, but if you look at the reality of modern football, Manchester United are one of the few clubs that can keep their key players for more than 10 years.”

“Rooney is one of those players who stayed at Old Trafford for more than a decade. But you see that less and less these days. It’s rare for a player to stay at one club for that long.

Jose Mourinho, for example, has mentioned the case of young striker Marcus Rashford. He also said that the striker needs to score more than 20 goals a season for the next 10 years for Man Utd to have any hope of surpassing Rooney's record. But both of those things are unlikely," the former Scot added. "You hope that Rashford will be at the club for more than 10 years. But the reality is that there are fewer and fewer players who stay in one place for that long."

Rooney sets historic milestone after 13 years at Man Utd. Photo: Internet.

Ferguson made Rooney the most expensive teenager of all time when he signed the striker to Old Trafford from Everton in the summer of 2004 for a fee of £37.6 million.

Looking back, he believes Rooney was well worth the price tag: “The only way you can really judge his value is by the time he has been at the club. When we first signed him at 18, we hoped that if we could keep a player with so much potential for ten years, £37m would be nothing. And that’s exactly what happened. The value is there, there’s no doubt about it.

I was very fortunate in my career to have had the service of Roy Keane (11 years), Peter Schmeichel, Dennis Irwin for a long time. Players who grew up from the youth academy such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville were also with me for more than ten years. Their value is determined by the length of time they dedicated to the club."

According to VNE