Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has launched a scathing attack on Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, claiming that he isn’t world-class and he hasn’t improved since his Everton days back in 2002.
The controversial midfielder was on BBC Radio 5 live Sport when he made the comments, and since then, he has taken to his personal Twitter account to defend the comments he made after he received backlash from many football fans.
Barton suggested that due to the way Rooney lives his life, he will never be world-class like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Barton believes he must change his lifestyle in order to improve as a player.
‘Rooney could have been world class but look at his mentality compared to Cristiano Ronaldo. Polar opposites,’ he told 5 live Sport.
‘Why does Ronaldo achieve what he achieves and Rooney doesn’t? When you see Wayne Rooney smoking cigarettes, does he live his life correctly?
‘From the questions I’ve asked of players who have worked with both… he (Ronaldo) is in the gym or honing his game.
‘The level of discipline he has for his chosen profession is the reason he is the best player in the world at the present time, and that’s the reason Rooney isn’t.’
On Twitter, Barton then added: ‘I would have to argue that he has not been better since he broke on the scene at Everton. For me that’s when he stopped developing or just afterwards. As I say, he is a top player. My favourite of the current bunch. Love watching him. Old school. But not world class.
‘He is infinitely better than me. That is not the debate here. But I was never world class, so people are missing the point.
‘Now shall I tell you what world class is for me. Ronaldo and Messi, Iniesta and Suarez. World class is a term thrown about far too often.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
