Wayne Rooney has revealed that after getting into the first-team at Goodison Park as a youngster, he discovered his Everton teammates were "terrible."
Rooney made his Premier League debut for the Merseyside club at the age of 16, and he made his England debut while on Everton's books before joining Manchester United. He returned to the club at the conclusion of his career, retiring in 2020 and moving into management with Derby County and his current team, D.C. United.
The 37-year-old scored a Premier League record 53 goals for England and 253 for United, establishing himself as one of the finest players in Premier League history. Even as a child, he was unimpressed while playing beside club legends Duncan Ferguson and Alan Stubbs.
"Things's crazy how fast it changed," Rooney said on Toffee TV. "To walk in with Duncan, Stubbsy, all the people who I grew up admiring, and then go and play with them, train with them every day, and play with them, I remember thinking 'these are awful.'"
"Obviously not all of them, but some of the guys made me wonder, "What's going on here?" Then you simply say to yourself, 'we need to sign better players.' That's the fan, I suppose; I couldn't believe how awful some of them were.
"I recall thinking to myself, 'I'm better than all of these players.' " That's not meant to be disrespectful to the players, but some of them just weren't talented enough to play for Everton," he continued. "I recall thinking that the next stage would be more difficult."
Rooney scored his first Premier League goal against Arsenal when he was 16 years old, and he scored 17 times in two seasons during his initial tenure. He also reached double digits in his second spell, scoring 10 in the league and 11 overall during the 2017-18 season.
The veteran striker took over at D.C. United earlier in 2022, when the MLS club was languishing towards the bottom of the standings. He managed a number of additions, including former Premier League stars Christian Benteke and Ravel Morrison, but the team failed to make the playoffs last season.
Last season, Rooney gave Matai Akinmboni his MLS debut, making him the third-youngest player in MLS history. "He's 15 years old, and I have to protect him," Rooney remarked of the boy during a 45-minute cameo against Real Salt Lake. "But I simply had the feeling he was ready to come in and play." Will he play in every game? Obviously not. He is still a little boy.