Wayne Rooney achieves ‘goal’; equals Sir Bobby Charlton’s Manchester United record
Kolkata: Wayne Rooney etched his name in history as he squalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 249 goals for Manchester United as the Red Devils strolled past Reading in a FA cup match at the Old Trafford on Saturday.
Making his first start after suffering from a thigh injury, the United captain opened the scoring after he slotted home a deflection from teammate Juan Mata in the seventh minute of the game.
Wayne Rooney now has scored 249 goals for the Red Devils and has achieved the feat in 543 matches, 215 short of the number of matches taken by Bobby Charlton to achieve the same. After being stuck on 248 goals for two and a half months, the English striker couldn’t hide his joy as he celebrated his remarkable achievement with a fist pump in the air before his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In 2015, Rooney had surpassed Charlton’s record of 49 goals in 106 games for England after scoring 50 goals in 107 matches.
From the stands, the Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton looked on sporting a dark brimmed hat. He did not stand up but applauded Rooney’s effort with wife Norma sitting alongside.
The other goals in the match had came from Anthony Martial in the 15th minute and Marcus Rashford, who scored twice in the 75th and 79th minutes. This was Manchester United’s eighth straight victory across all competitions, which is their best run since eight years. They won quite comfortably despite Jose Mourinho making as many as nine changes to the team that defeated West Ham in the Premier League.
Rooney was absolutely ecstatic after this achievement. He has been a part of the Red Devils’ outfit since 2004 when he was bought from Everton. After scoring a scintillating hat-trick in his debut match against Fenerbache, he hasn’t looked back. He has been with the club through thick and thin and has become a modern day great. According to reports from BT sports, this is what he said, “It’s a proud moment to do it at a massive club like Manchester United,”
“I’m hugely honoured to play for this football club. To be up there in terms of goals with Sir Bobby is a huge honour. Hopefully, I’ll be up there on my own soon,” he said.
The striker now has his sights set on breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s record as Manchester United are slated to play Hull City in the EFL cup on Tuesday and Liverpool in the Premier League next Sunday.
He said, “You want to do records in front of your home fans…We’ve got two home games coming up so hopefully I can get the next one in one of those two games. What’s more important today is the result.”
