Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney surprisingly admitted that a former Three Lions teammate was one of the best penalty-kick takers he has ever seen.
Wayne Rooney had a prolific playing career for the Three Lions, despite not winning any major silverware with England at international tournaments.
The 38-year-old former Manchester United striker was once England’s all-time leading scorer after surpassing fellow club legend Sir Bobby Charlton.
Rooney, whose England record was shattered by Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, scored an impressive 53 times in 120 appearances for the Three Lions.
The United legend later succeeded Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard by becoming England captain and wore the armband until his international retirement.
Rooney was part of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ during the 2000s for England, which failed to live up to the high expectations placed on them.
The former United and England captain played alongside a star-studded roster of talent for his country, including Frank Lampard, John Terry and David Beckham.
Rooney on exceptional penalty-kick taker
Speaking on The Overlap, Wayne Rooney opened up about his playing career with England and made a shock revelation about Chelsea legend John Terry.
The former Manchester United and Everton star mocked Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher for failing to convert a penalty in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
Rooney then brought up former England teammate Terry and how the Chelsea hero blew him away with his ability from the spot-kick in training.
Terry famously failed to convert what would have been the winning penalty during the 2008 Champions League final between United and Chelsea.
The 43-year-old former Chelsea captain stepped up and slipped when taking his shot, with the ball firing off the post during the final in Moscow.
Rooney admitted that he thought the Champions League final was “over” when he saw Terry step up for the penalty against United.
Speaking on Jamie Carragher, he said: “How can Jamie Carragher be taking a penalty in a shootout? That is shocking!”
Rooney added: “The only thing I would say is John Terry was one of the best penalty takers I’ve ever seen, honestly, in training.
“I went off the pitch in the Champions League final, I’m looking at him because I’ve seen him in training with England.
“I’m watching him walking up and I’m thinking, ‘It’s over’ – thankfully he slipped!’”
Rooney on penalties and England woes
Rooney was on the receiving end of defeats in penalty shootouts in his England career, including against Portugal at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
The Plymouth Argyle boss insisted that he changed his mindset on penalties after watching the Three Lions crash out of tournaments via shootouts.
“When you go out five out of eight tournaments on penalties, it becomes more than just luck,” Rooney told former United teammate Gary Neville.
“I recognise now looking back, we used to go out and think, ‘Penalties is a 50-50,’ it’s not – it really isn’t. You’ve got to have really good technical players on the pitch.”