Who are the best midfielders Rooney played with?

From Roy Keane and Paul Scholes to Steven Gerrard and David Beckham – Wayne Rooney played with some of the best midfielders during a glittering career for club and country.

Whether it was the relentless drive and leadership of Keane and the effortless control and vision of Scholes at Manchester United, or the dynamism and presence of Gerrard and Beckham with England, Rooney was served by elite‑level talent throughout his career.

When you look at Darren Fletcher and Ji-sung Park, the energy they give is incredible and a bit underrated. As [Manchester United] team-mates we knew exactly what they were giving us, but they don’t get the credit and the headlines.

Fletch would always finish the bleep test. Ji‑sung Park, he wasn’t a centre midfield player, he played there now and again, but in terms of his commitment, you never had to worry.

I think certainly Gerrard for England and for Liverpool.

What a leader he was for Liverpool, he became captain at such a young age (23).

Roy [Keane], I didn’t play with enough to see that – so I couldn’t really say.

He’d have a go at players, rightly or wrongly. I remember him having a go at Fletch which felt a bit unfair because Roy did the exact opposite to what he asked to do.

He asked Fletch a lot to charge his phone in the dressing room. You shouldn’t have your phone in the dressing room, which is fine.

But then we came in after training and Roy is taking his phone off charge.

That’s Roy. I didn’t really play with Roy long enough, but you certainly see how much of a leader he was.

You’re trying to take bits of bit of everyone. Stevie led by example with his actions on the pitch and how he tried to force the game or drag his team back into a game.

Ryan Giggs was more taking risks, in terms of sometimes the game’s tight and he’d try and play a pass which a lot of players would not try and make.

Michael Carrick led with his presence on the pitch. He’s a big lad. I don’t think people realise how big he is. He had a presence in midfield.

Beckham led in different ways. He had an aura, charisma about him and how he played the game.

One of the biggest compliments I can give to Beckham is he didn’t stop running.

He was an example to all the players.

Joe Cole comes into the [England] squad and he was more of a flair player.

He’s got no excuse not to run back if Beckham is running back and doing that and he’s the captain.

If you look at Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, they [are] intelligent football players – and I put Frank Lampard in there with them.

Lampard wasn’t as subtle as those three but his intelligence and timing to run into the penalty area and get on the end of things was the best out of any midfield player.

It was never a sprint. But then that last second, he sees that space and gets in it.

The intelligence to be able to hold back and then to make that run to get on the end of it was incredible.

Scholes was incredible and I think he started as a forward, then a 10, then an eight, then a six.

He played through all those positions and played off the left for England as well.

He was basically a Barcelona player. If you look at Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, he fits into that in terms of when he’s coming to show off the ball, you’re thinking, “should I get tight to him?”

And then you get tight and he lays it off.

Then you’ve got to get back into your shape. Then that happens again, you get tight and he lays it off. Then the one time you don’t get tight, you get turned and then he plays his passes.

So he was so clever in terms of when to hold on to the ball or when to lay it off, one or two-touch and make it really difficult.

He was never the quickest. He was sharp, his little movements were sharp, you couldn’t get anywhere near him.

You’re talking about a complete midfield player, there are five really for me in the Premier League. Four I played with, one I didn’t – Gerrard, Scholes, Carrick, Patrick Vieira and Lampard.

Vieira [who led Arsenal to two Premier League titles] was horrible [to play against]. He was big, his arms were everywhere, [he had] big long legs.

He could stride forward and it’s so hard to keep up with him. He was horrible to play against. I met him a few times off the pitch, lovely fella, but on the pitch he was nasty.

The complete midfield player out of all of them has to be Gerrard. He could do everything. I think he’s played full-back, he’s played midfield, he’s played the 10.

He can tackle, he can shoot, he can dictate the games, he can hit long passes. You see him in that period with [Fernando] Torres where he’s become more the assist man for Torres.

I’d have to say Giggs. He’s the one who could do things which no-one else could do in training, even at an older age.

He’d score no look [goals]. He could manipulate the ball and wriggle out of tight areas. [He could play] through passes [and] finish. He could take free-kicks.

He won 13 league titles, which is incredible. When I first saw him for United, he was getting booed by the fans.

In the three-man midfield, I’d go Scholes, Carrick and Gerrard. I was going to go Lampard instead of Carrick, but just having the balance of it.