Fergie, Sir Bobby and Co. hail record-breaker Rooney

Joe Williams

Wayne Rooney has been congratulated by figures from across the beautiful game after breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time goalscoring record at Manchester United.

Having already broken the England record for goals over a year ago, Rooney ticked off another on Saturday afternoon when his 94th-minute equaliser against Stoke took him past 249 goals for United and into the record books.

Number 250 came from the left-hand side of the box with an arching, dipping free-kick that flew past Lee Grant at his far post.

It was an apt way to notch the record-breaking strike and his former mentor Sir Alex Ferguson, amongst others, had nothing but praise for the 31-year-old following the achievement.

“I would like to say huge congratulations to Wayne on reaching this milestone,” Ferguson told Manchester United’s official site.

“It is no mean feat to score so many goals and he breaks a record that has stood for over 40 years. Wayne thoroughly deserves his place in the history books of this great club and I am sure that he will go on to score many more goals.

“Well done Wayne, I am absolutely delighted for you, you have been a great servant to this club and long may it continue.”

Meanwhile, Sir Bobby had kind words for Rooney despite having to surrender his record to the former Everton player.

“It’s over 40 years since I scored the last of my 249 goals for Manchester United, so I must admit that I have become used to the honour of being the club’s all-time top goalscorer,” Charlton told the club’s official website.

“We have had some incredible strikers here at Old Trafford and they have scored a lot of goals, but it has been fairly obvious for a while now that Wayne Rooney was going to be the one likeliest to break my record, and now that day has come, I would be lying to say that I’m not disappointed to have lost the record. However, I can honestly say that I’m delighted for Wayne. He deserves his place in the history books.

“He is a true great for club and country, and it is fitting that he is now the highest goalscorer for both United and England. It has been great to watch him every week since his arrival at Old Trafford in 2004; he set the tone with a wonderful hat-trick on his debut and he has thrilled us all in the years since, going on to enjoy a hugely successful career.

“I was 35 when I retired. Wayne is only 31 and still going strong, so I don’t think he’s done by a long stretch yet. He continues to show that he can contribute goals, assists and performances whenever called upon, he will raise the bar even further before he calls it a day. Now he’s the man to beat, and I can’t see anybody doing that for a long, long time.”

Mark Hughes was on the receiving end of Rooney’s fabulous goal but still found time to give his thoughts on an “outstanding record”.

“It is an outstanding record and won’t be surpassed. It has taken 40-odd years for Sir Bobby’s record to be broken which shows how high a mark it was,” Hughes said.

His manager Jose Mourinho said after the match against Hughes’ Stoke side that Rooney is now a Manchester United legend.

Here’s some more reaction to Rooney’s achievement on social media: