Wayne Rooney is the “go-to guy” in the Manchester United dressing room, according to teammate Phil Jones.
United captain Rooney, 31, drew level with the club’s all-time scoring record on Saturday, matching Sir Bobby Charlton’s tally of 249 goals by netting against Reading in the 4-0 FA Cup third-round win at Old Trafford.
Jones, who has been a teammate of Rooney for both United and England, told the Daily Star: “He’s the go-to guy and everyone knows that. He’s a nice guy. People can see, if they need to speak to him, they can do. They are not afraid.
“He doesn’t over-impose himself in the dressing room. He’s just a normal guy who loves football and full credit to him. Everyone knows that the likes of him and Michael Carrick, they are the people in the dressing room that the lads certainly look up to and all credit to him.”
Rooney had been waiting more than two months for the goal that moved him joint-top of United’s all-time scoring charts, having last scored against Feyenoord on Nov. 24.
United manager Jose Mourinho predicted after Rooney drew level with Charlton that “the best day will arrive” when the forward surpasses the record.
Jones said: “We are all proud of him [Rooney]. He is so influential in the dressing room. We take players like him for granted, now that he is here. But when he is not here anymore in the years to come, we will look back and say ‘we could do with him now.'”