Wayne Rooney Reveals He Knew He Was the Best Player at Everton During 1st Spell Despite Tender Years

Wayne Rooney has revealed he knew he was the best player at Everton during his first stint with the club, despite being just 16 years old.

The 32-year-old made an impressionable appearance on Monday Night Football alongside Jamie Carragher with his offerings of opinion and analysis on Watford vs Chelsea, which finished 4-1 to the hosts to leave Antonio Conte on the brink.

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After dissecting the game, the conversation was moved to Rooney's career, and host Dave Jones asked the former Manchester United striker about his burst onto the scene 15 years ago.

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Rooney was a fine talent for all to see as he came through the ranks at the Toffees, and it appears he knew it, too. He said, as quoted by Sky Bet on Twitter: "I knew that at 16 years-old I was the best player in the team [Everton]. David Moyes dropped me and I was raging. I couldn't understand why."

Rooney also stated that his fearlessness, and simple desire just to play football is what helped him to break through successfully all those years ago.

He claimed that his move to Manchester United in 2004 suited all parties, because Everton weren't about to compete for titles and that they needed the money from his sale.

Rooney spent 13 years at Old Trafford following the £25.6m switch and went on to win every major trophy at club level, and became the club's record goalscorer with 253 in all competitions.

He returned to his boyhood club in July of last year and is currently the Toffees' top goalscorer in what's been a decent season on a personal level.