“Most defenders hated us”: Rooney names his best-ever strike partner

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney expressed his disappointment when one of his most effective strike partners left the club. Rooney admitted he felt gutted when Carlos Tevez made the move to their arch-rivals, Manchester City. Speaking to the media, Rooney said he was heartbroken when he heard the news, but noted that Tevez had actually wanted to stay at Old Trafford. Reflecting on Manchester City’s early days after their takeover and their rebuilding efforts, Rooney highlighted why Tevez was such a highly sought-after player at the time.

The English striker also acknowledged the crucial role Tevez played in transforming Manchester City’s fortunes. During the conversation, Rooney said he would have loved to play alongside Tevez for a few more years. He said:

“I was gutted, to be honest. I’m pretty sure Carlos wanted to stay at Manchester United. Man City at the time were trying to build and become competitive, and I knew that he’d be a massive part of that, because of the ability he had.”

During his time at Manchester United, Carlos Tevez registered 28 goal contributions in the Premier League across 63 appearances (49 starts).

Who was Wayne Rooney’s favourite strike partner at Manchester United?

Over the years, Rooney played alongside some of the biggest names in world football, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani, Carlos Tevez, and Radamel Falcao. When asked about his favourite strike partner, Rooney singled out Carlos Tevez.

He explained that the duo struck fear into defenders, describing their partnership as instinctive, intense, and unpredictable. Rooney said:

“I think Carlos was my favourite strike partner to play alongside. Most defenders we played against actually hated it, and we could feel that. We knew we were nasty as well — very instinctive, intense, off the cuff. Anything could happen at any moment.”