Despite leaving Everton as an 18-year-old, it was widely recognised that Wayne Rooney was destined for greatness.
After all, having announced himself as the future of English football with his stunning first-ever Premier League goal, netting against Arsenal from way out, the sky really was the limit.
His curling right-footed effort left David Seaman with no chance, and made the rest of the division stand up and take note.
However, garnering that much fame that early, at a point in footballing history when things were not nearly as streamlined as they are now, was always bound to be a struggle.
Rooney has recalled those tribulations, which led him to regret some of his actions as a youngster.
Wayne Rooney apologised to David Moyes after joining Manchester United
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, the 38-year-old, who broke nearly every goalscoring record laid out in front of him as a player, recalled the time he left Everton as a teenager.
His actions, as a rash and thoughtless youngster, left him regretful upon joining Manchester United, and led him to actually ring up David Moyes to speak to him.
He noted: ‘Moyesy was really good for me. He actually sued me when I left the club. I hammered him when I left.
‘I spoke to him a few years after I left, I called him up and apologised because the older you get, you realise why he was doing things.
‘I had a go, I felt he was singling me out. He was treating me a bit differently to the other players. I don’t want to go into it, but he was treating me [differently].
‘One of them was that he had me running round the local park by myself with the physio. I think he felt, because it was new to him, having a player getting all these headlines. But when I look back I think he was really good for me because he was always on me, constantly, even as a young lad.
‘He was trying not to let me think I was better than what I was.’
This comes after Rooney named two Everton players as his favourite of all time.
Wayne Rooney is one of the most underrated Premier League players of all time
It’s quite ridiculous that, so often when debates rage over the best Premier League strikers of all time, Rooney is omitted.
Whether it be due to his prime having a disappointing lack of longevity, or the absence of an attractive foreign name to compete with the likes of Thierry Henry or Sergio Aguero, the former Manchester United man deserves to be named alongside these legends of the sport.
After all, he finished his playing career as the top scorer not only for England, but for one of the country’s biggest and most famous clubs too.
He won it all, multiple times, and did so as a player that Sir Alex Ferguson could deploy in any number of positions.
A malleable, willing runner who could score, assist, tackle and work hard. Rooney was the perfect English footballer, and was only really missing international success from his stunning resume.