Wayne Rooney has has lifted the lid on his friendships with two of his former Manchester United strike partners, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin Van Persie.
United's all-time top scorer played alongside Van Nistelrooy between 2004 and 2006 and Van Persie from 2012 and 2015, revealing he was much closer to the latter despite regarding the former as a childhood hero.
The two Dutch strikers only won one Premier League title apiece at Old Trafford, while Rooney enjoyed five league successes, as well as three League Cups and victory in the 2008 Champions League.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf , Rooney was asked about the Dutch stars he worked alongside at United, including the two strikers and
“Ruud van Nistelrooy was great. I loved him. He was one of my biggest heroes when I was young," Rooney said.
"It was like a dream come true when I was on the same pitch as him.
“It was an honour to watch him from close and to learn from him. He was such a brilliant finisher. I never really got close with Ruud off the pitch, but that was mainly because of the age gap. I was just a kid and Ruud was in his late twenties. And he was so experienced.”
On Van Persie, Rooney recalled a Christmas night-out with the former Arsenal frontman and the pair's close relationship off the pitch.
“I loved playing with Van Persie," he added. "He was a world-class player and it was an absolute privilege to play with him. But I have other great memories of Robin off the pitch.
“Our karaoke night at Christmas was fantastic. I remember doing a song with Robin’s wife, Bouchra. She had a terrific voice. I grew really close to Robin. On and off the pitch we got on really well. We spent a lot of good times together.”
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