Tottenham Hotspur star Jermain Defoe believes Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is currently the best player in the world, narrowly ahead of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
Defoe believes Rooney’s scoring ability for Manchester United in a league he calls the “toughest in the world”, gives him the nod over the talismanic Barcelona star. The Tottenham Hotspur forward also suggests Rooney has adapted his game this season, taking it to another level.
The prolific Tottenham Hotspur star, who is vying for a position alongside the Manchester United striker, in Fabio Capello’s England squad, suggests Messi is similar to football icon Diego Maradona, but on current form, he believes Rooney is the best in the business.
The Tottenham Hotspur star told mirrorfootball.co.uk: “They are two fantastic players who leave you running out of superlatives.”
“But despite Leo Messi's fantastic goals for Barcelona on Wednesday night I'd have to keep Wayne Rooney as the man I believe is the best in the world.”
“When you talk about dribbling, close control and beating players I'd admit, Leo Messi is the king.”
“He is so similar to Maradona in terms of the way he plays, the way he moves the ball, his touches and his balance.”
“But, like Messi, Wayne also scores the big goals in the big games - just look at his five against AC Milan over two legs this month.”
“You also have to give Wayne massive respect for the way in which he has changed his game this season.”
“From being a provider, a second striker, he is much more ruthless this year. As soon as he gets it, he pops it out wide and his first instinct is to get into the box.”
“You only have to look at the goal he scored against Arsenal at the Emirates in January as an example.”
“To have the power and desire to run the length of the pitch after he'd won it deep in his own half and laid it out wide to Nani just summed up the player Wayne is.”
"Even the finish was quality. He still had a lot to do and yet he made it look easy, calculated with just a stroke of the ball.”
“I don’t know whether it was Sir Alex Ferguson who said something to him last summer about changing his game or whether it was something that Wayne himself wanted to do.”
“But the big difference in his game is that he is doing now is getting in the best positions to score more often. And because he is so calm in front of goal he is racking them up.”
“Wayne is also improving the players around him. Look at Nani, for example. He is now not nearly as over-elaborate as he once was.”
“The debate about the better player between Messi and Rooney will split opinion up and down the country.”
“But Rooney edges it for me because of the intensity and the tempo of the games in the Premier League.”
“It is so much more difficult to score goals in the Premier League, which is why you see so many players that have struggled here yet have gone on to fill their boots in La Liga.
Defoe concluded: “Wayne does it week in week out in a league I believe is the toughest in the world which is why I would go for him above Messi."
Who is the best player in the world, Messi or Rooney, r someone else perhaps? Leave your comments in the section below.