Who is stronger at the age of 18? Irving said he was stronger at the time, but Rooney disagreed but expressed respect for his predecessors

October 6: Rooney and Irving recently participated in a program, and they discussed their data and honor comparisons when they were young.

Irving: Rooney, recently there have been discussions on social media about which of us is better when we were 17 or 18 years old. To be honest, I laughed when I was asked about this on Ferdinand’s podcast. I think in our country, you may be the only one who can compare with me at that age.

Rooney: (laughs) I heard, Irving. Then you must support yourself.

Irving: Of course I have data support. I later listed it online: When I was 17 years old, I scored 18 Premier League goals and won the Golden Boot Award, and you scored 6. At the age of 18, I scored 18 goals, got the Golden Boot again, and ranked fourth in the Golden Ball Awards, and you had 9 goals that year. In the first seven seasons of our respective careers, you didn't score more goals in a single season than me at one time, with a total of 117 to 80. During that time, I also became the second youngest Golden Globe winner ever.

Roney: I think your comment is fair. Of course you will support yourself, and I will support myself. But seriously, I never compare myself to you, because you are the senior I truly admire, and it is my honor to be able to fight alongside you.

Irving: I also admit that injuries hindered me after that, and you have always maintained a high level. So, history will think you are a better player than me. But, only when it comes to 17 years old... please, that's nothing.

(Host voiceover: OK, let's take a look at Saka's data. He reached the milestone of 100 goals in the Premier League at the age of 24, and was the seventh youngest player to complete this achievement.)

(A data chart is displayed on the screen, which says: Irving is the fastest player to achieve this at the age of 22 and 57 days, and it took 153 games. Rooney followed closely, at the time of 22 and 122 days, and took 187 games.)

Rooney: (Pointing at the screen, saying to Irving with a smile) Look, this data clearly shows that at that age, you are indeed a better player than me.

Irving: (smile and laughed)

Rooney: (and then turned serious) But back to Saka, he is an extremely important player for Arsenal and England. He may have been the most important man for Arsenal in the past three or four years. He has suffered some injuries, which must have affected these data, and I believe his data would be even better without those injuries. He is an incredible player.