Rooney bags United's Goal-of-the-Decade award

Friday 03 January 2020 07:00

Wayne Rooney’s iconic bicycle kick against Manchester City has been voted Manchester United’s Goal of the Decade, with a massive 50 per cent share of votes that were cast in our Official App.

Over 90,000 fans had their say in our poll this week and the club legend was ultimately a runaway winner, comfortably beating off competition from 10 other shortlisted strikes from the 2010s.

Rooney provided the assist for the runner-up, Robin van Persie’s sensational volley against Aston Villa at Old Trafford in 2013, which earned 14 per cent of votes that were cast by supporters. 

Marcus Rashford’s recent free-kick against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup – which is currently the favourite to win our 2019/20 Goal-of-the-Season award - finished in third place with 13 per cent.
Video
Watch every angle of Rooney's famous overhead kick.
Rooney’s 2010 counter-attack goal at Arsenal and 2014 long-range lob versus West Ham United complete the top five, with seven and four per cent apiece. 

Congratulations to Wayne and thanks to everybody who voted.

Goal of the Decade results:
50% - Wayne Rooney v Man City
14% - Robin van Persie v Aston Villa
13% - Marcus Rashford v Chelsea
7% - Wayne Rooney v Arsenal
4% - Wayne Rooney v West Ham
4% - Anthony Martial v Liverpool
3% - Juan Mata v Liverpool
2% - Henrikh Mkhitaryan v Sunderland
1% - Andreas Pereira v Southampton
1% - Nemanja Matic v Crystal Palace
1% - Antonio Valencia v Blackburn Rovers

PLAYER OF THE DECADE

Rooney’s rampant success in our Goal-of-the-Decade poll follows some detailed research - published this week - that shines a light on the former captain’s outstanding contribution as a Red in the 2010s.

As you can see in the tables below, Wayne scored more goals (145) and registered more Premier League assists (58) than any other United player. 

The United legend was also only beaten for appearances in all competitions (298) by Chris Smalling (323), Antonio Valencia (339) and David De Gea (383).

Top 10 goalscorers of the decade:
10: Jesse Lingard (30)
9: Paul Pogba (31)
8: Dimitar Berbatov (36)
7: Romelu Lukaku (42)
6: Juan Mata (45)
=4: Anthony Martial (58)
=4: Robin van Persie (58)
3: Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez (59)
2: Marcus Rashford (61)
1: Wayne Rooney (145)

  • Wayne Rooney Player Profile

  • Forward
  • Appearances559
  • Goals 253
  • United debut28 Sep 2004 v Fenerbahce (H) Champions League
  • BirthplaceCroxteth , England
  • Birthdate24 Oct 1985

Top 10 Premier League assist-makers of the decade:
10: Robin van Persie (20)
9: Anthony Martial (21)
8: Ryan Giggs (23)
7: Patrice Evra (23)
6: Paul Pogba (25)
5: Juan Mata (28)
4: Ashley Young (36)
3: Nani (40)
2: Antonio Valencia (41)
1: Wayne Rooney (58)

Top 10 appearance-makers of the decade:
10: Marcus Rashford (196)
9: Patrice Evra (207)
8: Phil Jones (221)
7: Juan Mata (236)
6: Ashley Young (260)
5: Michael Carrick (294)
4: Wayne Rooney (298)
3: Chris Smalling (323)
2: Antonio Valencia (339) 
1: David De Gea (383)

THE BIG MAN IS BACK

United legend Rooney captained Derby County to a 2-1 victory over Barnsley on Thursday evening, setting up the Rams' first goal from a free-kick to mark his debut for the Championship club.

Our all-time leading scorer had not played a competitive match since the end of October, with former club DC United, yet he managed to complete the full 90 minutes at Pride Park.

Wayne now hopes to feature again on Sunday, when Phillip Cocu's men taken on Crystal Palace in the Emirates FA Cup third round.

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