Rooney offers unexpected advice for Harry Kane

Wayne Rooney gives special praise to Harry Kane, declaring him the greatest number 9 in the history of the England national team. However, the former Three Lions captain also frankly points out an important aspect that the Bayern Munich striker still lacks to become more complete.

During their international careers, Rooney and Kane played together 10 times. The most memorable was the 2015 match against Switzerland, where Rooney scored his 50th goal for England, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton, and Kane also scored. However, that record was soon broken as Kane now has 74 goals in 109 appearances for the national team.

Rooney acknowledges that Kane not only scores goals but also contributes significantly to the team's play. On the show Rio Ferdinand Presents, he analyzed: "Harry has developed a deeper playing style over the past few years. He is smart, aware that he is not the fastest player and has lost some sharpness, yet still scores plenty of goals for Bayern. Kane is a killer, very composed in front of goal and extremely intelligent with his positioning."

Rooney even compared Kane’s style of play to the legend Francesco Totti: "I watched Bayern Munich at the Club World Cup and saw that he resembles Totti at Roma, dropping deeper to create space for teammates to run into. Then, when the ball is circulated, Kane appears inside the box. He doesn’t need to sprint but is always there at the right moment to score. To me, he is the greatest number 9 England has ever had."

Despite the praise, Rooney maintains the view that Kane might not necessarily be better than him: "As a player, I’m not sure. I can do things Kane can’t. I’m also more aggressive than him. When it comes to scoring, Kane not only scores but also assists. Some may criticize that he scores against weaker teams, but the fact is Kane scores in every match. He’s not always at his best, but to me, he surpasses everyone else."

Rooney emphasizes that Kane needs more intensity to reach the top. He believes that lack of "fire" is why Kane stayed at Tottenham for so long: "That makes a difference. Maybe that’s why Kane remained at Tottenham for too long. You need to step out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself at another club to seek success. I’m glad he won the Bundesliga, but there’s still a bit of 'fire' missing."

After leaving Tottenham in 2023, Kane quickly achieved success with Bayern by winning the Bundesliga and two consecutive Golden Boots. In contrast, Rooney left Everton at 18 to join Manchester United, where he won 17 major trophies, including 5 Premier League titles and 1 Champions League. He also became United’s all-time top scorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances.