#3 Wayne Rooney
The Evertonian was signed by Manchester United as an 18-year-old for a then record sum of £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. He has since firmly embedded himself into the history of the club, becoming their all-time top scorer after going past Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 249 goals for Manchester United.
Despite these numbers, it is impossible to deny that the England skipper’s career has gone through a painfully slow decline with his pace deteriorating, a dodgy first touch and the inability to play with the incision required of a Manchester United No. 10. It wasn’t always like this though, a few years ago Rooney was spoken in glowing terms and was touted to be one of the best players in the world.
Rooney’s career can be effectively charted out using FIFA statistics. As an 18-year-old, Rooney was rated at 87 in FIFA 05 and reached a career high rating of 92 in FIFA 07, when he was also the best player in the game. This coincided with the time he and Ronaldo really started gelling as a partnership at Old Trafford with the pair regularly notching up 25+ goal seasons.
The ratings started declining soon after his partner in crime left the Red Devils. He received a rating of 87 in FIFA 09 which remained till FIFA 14 apart from a minor increase in ratings in FIFA 12 when he breached the 90 barrier again. Wazza’s decline had become apparent by the time FIFA 15 was released.
His abilities were rated at 85, partly due to Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and the one-paced nature of football under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. By the time FIFA 17 was released, Rooney was a mere shadow of his former self, rated at 83 and looking at an Old Trafford exit in the summer after not being able to breach double digit goalscoring figures as a striker for Manchester United.
