England have produced some of the most iconic players in football history.
Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore were two all-time greats from the World Cup winners of 1966, while Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen were Ballon d’Or winners during their prime years.
Even today, Bukayo Saka is a world-class player, Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world, and Real Madrid want to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Speaking to Ben Black on TikTok, Wayne Rooney has been asked to name who he believes is the best English footballer of all-time.
Rooney could have picked from a long list of superstars, but, ultimately, he named a former Tottenham ace as the greatest English player in history.
Wayne Rooney says Paul Gascoigne is the greatest English player ever
Rooney played with some incredible footballers at international level.
Indeed, Rooney was lucky enough to call the likes of Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and even David Beckham his teammates.
However, according to Rooney, the best English footballer of all-time is Paul Gascoigne.
Gascoigne was famous for his exploits at the 1990 World Cup, and just one year later, he earned a British-record £2m move to Tottenham.
“Who is the best English player of all-time? You can say yourself, Rooney was asked.
“No, I’ll say Gazza, I think he was just so, so good,” Rooney said.
What Paul Gascoigne said about Wayne Rooney
Rooney is a massive fan of Gazza, and, at one point, their careers did overlap.
Indeed, Gascoigne was at Everton the same time Rooney was in the academy, and he gave Rooney a glowing review, even as a youngster.
“When I was at Everton I used to go and watch the youth team play, the Under-19s, before we played. I think it was Colin Harvey (in charge) at the time and he said to watch this young kid (Wayne Rooney), he’s 14 and playing for the Under-19s,” Gascoigne said.
“I thought I’d stay and watch for a little bit and he came on when they were getting beat 1-0 with 20 minutes to go.
“He banged in two goals. I think you can watch them on TV – they’re incredible. What a player. I thought he’s going to be good.”
Gascoigne may not have achieved as much as someone like Rooney did in his career, he never won a league title, nor did he ever win a Champions League, but he had an unbelievable natural ability and he turned up for England in the big moments.
Gascoigne was a fearless player, and he certainly deserves to be remembered as one of England’s best.
