He’s really looking unwell.
He should have been better, I suppose it won't have many takes but I say he was more natural talented than Ronaldo.
I don't know how he was in training and hos on the pitch work rate was unimpeachable but can't help the lingering feeling of what could have been if he maximized his potential.
Mind you the 2010 injury of his didn't help much either.
It was by far the prevailing thought on here and across the Internet before C.Ronaldo exploded, evidenced by practically any thread on here (and across other fora) before a certain date in time. The retractions after the fact don't alter what was the reality.
Between injuries and not looking after himself, Rooney plateaued whilst C.Ronaldo was the perfect embodiment of application and dedication to his craft. Fortunately for ourselves and Rooney, his raw ability and God-given athleticism meant his plateau was still way, way, above even good footballers so not much was made of it, many even saying he still was fantastic whilst those of us who truly believed this guy had the potential to be a literal best ever type candidate were adamant that despite his accolades, he could have gone on to be a level or two up on what transpired.
The ultimate saying was: Rooney with C.Ronaldo's work ethic, what does that look like? And I think that's a top 10 player or so of all time, just like Cristiano went on to become.
Of the superstars of his own era, Rooney led by far the worst lifestyle and that was obvious in real time let alone with all the corroborations we're getting from himself and others on The Overlap, which are now humorous anecdotes, but must have been absolutely maddening for coaches and nutritionists etc. of the time. You've got this once in a century talent who doesn't really have any aspirations to maximise his potential. On the other hand, there's a player who obsesses about nothing but being the absolute best he can be and does everything in his power to have it manifest. What's probably even more disappointing is Rooney was there for every step of Ronaldo's transformation, and instead of having the competitive drive to try and stay ahead of him, he was OK with stepping aside and becoming a facilitator and runner for him, rather than thinking 'I have the more natural talent, and with a better lifestyle, could be challenging for ballon D'Ors myself.'
There should always be acknowledgement of all Rooney went onto achieve, as it isn't insignificant, but the caveat should also always be there that there was potentially a far higher ceiling for him than we saw - the player who looked a level above verses the best, most revered defenders and defensive setups on the planet - that Euro '04 Rooney who looked unstoppable in the purest form. The only question I have is whether it's spoon or egg. Was it due to the injuries that his application and dedication to his craft tapered or got waylaid, or was he always winging it in regard to looking after himself? As there's only so long you can get away with the latter.
