Who is the best finisher in football history? That isn’t an easy question to answer.
Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest goalscorers ever, but pure finishing ability is almost another conversation.
Yes, Messi and Ronaldo know how to find the net, but being a pure finisher is something else, it’s about that instinct to find a corner with power with one touch and to get your shot on target everytime.
Someone like Mohamed Salah is an incredible goalscorer, but Diogo Jota is the best finisher at Liverpool in the eyes of many.
Robbie Fowler was another incredible finisher and speaking to Ben Black on TikTok, Wayne Rooney has been asked to name who he believes is the best finisher in football history.
Wayne Rooney names the best finisher in football history
Rooney played with some incredible finishers in his career, from Cristiano Ronaldo to Harry Kane.
However, according to the England legend, the best finisher in the history of the game is Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy and Rooney spent two seasons together at Manchester United before the Dutchman made a £10m move to Real Madrid.
Roy Keane also named Van Nistelrooy as the best finisher he’d seen.
“Who is the best finisher in football history?” Rooney was asked.
“The best one, the best one I’ve seen and that was Ruud van Nistelrooy,” Rooney said.
Ruud van Nistelrooy record alongside Wayne Rooney
Rooney and Van Nistelrooy played together for two seasons at Manchester United, and analysing their record together is interesting.
These two incredible strikers played 66 matches together, and, interestingly, Van Nistelrooy outscored Rooney in that time.
| Manchester United record when Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney played together | |
|---|---|
| 66 | |
| Wins | 38 |
| Draws | 14 |
| Losses | 14 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy goals | 36 |
| Wayne Rooney goals | 25 |
This partnership, on paper, should have been amazing, but this was actually a more difficult period in United’s time under Alex Ferguson.
Van Nistelrooy and Rooney only won 58% of their games alongside one another, and they only won one trophy together – the 2006 League Cup.
Intriguingly, for that League Cup Final, Van Nistelrooy was left on the bench and it was Louis Saha who was preferred as Rooney’s strike partner in that game.
Ultimately, Van Nistelrooy would leave United to go to Real Madrid, while Rooney would take up the mantle as United’s chief goalscorer.
Rooney would go on to break the Manchester United goalscoring record, but he still considers Van Nistelrooy to be the greatest finisher of all-time.
