English legendary striker Irving recently said on social media that he was better than Rooney when he was young, and Rooney also responded to this on his personal podcast show.

Rooney: "Irving was really incredible when he was 17 or 18. Once I walked on the street and pretended to be him. I pretended to be Michael Irving, even though he was a Liverpool player... (laughs)"

"I can completely understand what he said, but we are two completely different players. For three or four years, Irving was probably the best striker in the world. Unfortunately, he suffered those injuries, which probably made him unable to adapt to the game like me anymore."

"His evaluation is very pertinent, but I will never compare myself to Irving because he is someone I respect and I am very happy to be with him."