Carrick: Rooney Is Sensational

Michael Carrick has played with Wayne Rooney for 11 of his 13 seasons at Manchester United, allowing him to watch his friend become the club's record goalscorer from close quarters.

Rooney netted his 250th strike with a sublime free-kick at Stoke City last Saturday, propelling him past Sir Bobby Charlton's long-standing record that had stood for over 40 years. In an exclusive interview with MUTV and ManUtd.com, Michael pays a personal tribute to his team-mate's "incredible achievement"...

How do you sum up what it means for Wayne to become United's all-time record goalscorer?
It’s just an incredible achievement. To play at this club for so long at the level he has done and to mean so much to the team year in, year out, is the reason why he’s got the record. A record like that is not something that is easily achieved. When you think of all the great players, the great strikers and the attacking players this club has had, and the fact the record has been there for so long, it tells you how tough it is to break. I think Wayne fully deserves it for what he’s given to this club and to go alongside his England record too, you have to say it’s pretty sensational.

Has he finally been given the credit he deserves in the days since he broke the record?
I think that’s just football in general. Sometimes it can take until someone has finished their career to be fully appreciated. The reaction to him is so extreme in the media and around the world, one week he can go from being one of the best players in the world to the next week, if he has a not-so-good game, where people say he shouldn’t be at the club. That’s what he’s had to deal with for so long and that’s the nature of football. If you look at the bigger picture and look at him as a player, and what he’s achieved and what he’s brought to every team he's played in every year, then it's been incredible and maybe it won’t be until after he’s finished that people will sit down, look back and say ‘what a player he was'.

His 250th goal was classic United; a stunning, important, injury-time strike…
Yeah I just had a funny feeling when we got the free-kick that he was going to score. I knew what he’d be trying to do in terms of trying to score inside the far post and in the end it was inch-perfect, and it salvaged a point for us. It would have been ideal if it was a winner and he could have celebrated a little bit more, but nevertheless the result aside just to get that goal was a massive thing.

You’ve played with him for many years – which of his qualities do you most admire?
There are so many. Obviously his finishing isn't bad! He’s scored so many goals and so many different types of goals over the years. I think it’s about what he’s brought to every team he’s played in though - that drive, that determination, that aggression and the will to win as well as all the technical qualities he brings and how good he is as a player. He’s taken the captaincy on board for club and country. I think he’s done that very well and it’s suited him in many ways. There are just so many different things you could say about him which shows what a special player he’s been over the years.

We’ve heard from other players about the way he helps young players and some of the rousing talks he’s given before important games – is he the captain that every team wants?
Yes definitely. I think because he’s been around for so long and been right at the top of the game in world terms, he’s obviously got that presence and aura that people, especially the young players, respond to. Some of them have grown up watching him as one of the star players in the world so he’s got that presence as a captain. He’s not one for shouting and screaming, but when something needs to be said [in the dressing room] he’ll say it and he gets a response.

Is there anything you can tell us about him off the pitch that would surprise some people?
That’s a tough one. He likes to think he’s a singer! [Laughs] I’ve heard him sing a good few times – sometimes he's not bad and other times he's not so good!

What are your memories of your first training session with Wayne at United?
I’d actually trained with him for England before I came here so I knew what he was about. I remember the first time I probably came across him was when he played against my brother in the FA Youth Cup. My brother was at West Ham and Wayne was at Everton. Then you pretty much blinked and he was in the first team after that. It’s that sheer aggression, drive, determination and will to win that I remember – those things shone through from the first time I saw him and it was as though nothing was going to stop him from achieving what he wanted to achieve. That’s stood in him good stead through his whole career.

Have you got a favourite goal, bar the obvious one against Manchester City?
You have to say the City one does stand out because it’s such an iconic goal. There are just so many. I remember a goal from 2006/07 when him and Cristiano [Ronaldo] linked up for a counter-attack against Bolton [in March 2007] which started on the edge of our box and Wayne lifted it over the keeper. The counter-attack goal against Arsenal at the Emirates [in November 2014] as well when he sprinted through the middle and finished it off well. The chip against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford [in January 2005] and the volley against Newcastle was incredible [in April 2005]. You could go on for quite some time discussing them because he has scored so many special goals.

Is there one moment or situation on the pitch that perfectly sums up Wayne?
There was a game at West Ham [in April 2011] when I remember we were 2-0 down and he scored a hat-trick to get us back into it and we won 4-2. We were going for the league title at the time and he scored a hat-trick in the second half and pulled us right through that game. You saw his reaction into the camera! [Laughs] But that showed you what it meant to him. That pretty much summed him up – it was a great hat-trick at a crucial time in the season. He stepped up and produced for us.

You revealed that he asked you to lift the FA Cup with him last year – where does that moment rank in your career?
It’s not something I expected to be honest and it's tough to put into words what that meant to me. It was his first trophy to lift as captain of the club and he was so entitled to lift it on his own, to enjoy the moment, but he thought of me and asked me to lift it with him so I was delighted. We nearly messed it up and lost the top of the FA Cup! But it was such a special moment and something I can never really thank him enough for. It’s something I will always appreciate.

Wayne has said himself he’s only 31, do you think we can expect to see plenty more goals?
The amount of time he’s been around football is crazy really and the things he’s achieved, and he’s still only 31. It’s no age in football these days, I wish I was still 31! I’m sure we’ll see plenty more goals.

Finally, how would you sum Wayne's latest achievement in three words?
Staggering, amazing, goalscorer.