WAYNE ROONEY has delivered a hilarious verdict on his Everton team-mates from when he broke into the team aged just 16.
The forward grew up a huge Toffees fan and swiftly rose through the ranks at Goodison Park.
He made his debut aged just 16 in 2002… and his perception of his heroes swiftly changed when he started seeing them up close.
Chatting to Toffee TV, he said: “It’s mad how quick it changed.
“For me to go in with Duncan (Ferguson), Stubbsy (Alan Stubbs)… all of them I’ve grown up watching…”
The host then added the name “Mark Pembridge”, with Rooney laughing before adding: “To then go and play with them, train with them every day, play with them…
“And then so quickly I remember thinking ‘these are crap’.”
Everton came seventh in Rooney’s first season, the future England captain scoring six times as he adapted to regular Premier League football at such a young age.
The following campaign was a more challenging one, with the Toffees only narrowly avoiding relegation by coming 17th.
Rooney, now 37, managed nine goals and four assists that term – and would leave for Manchester United the following summer.
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After 13 glittering years, during which he became the Red Devils’ all-time leading goalscorer – Wazza returned to his beloved Goodison Park in 2017.
He scored 10 times in 31 Prem outings before leaving Everton for a second time – finishing off his career with spells at DC United and Derby County.
Rooney went on to manage the Rams, before leaving last summer and subsequently taking up the head coach position at DC United.
