Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney have been their country's outstanding players of the 21st century. But do England or Wales win this Battle of Britain?
Gareth Bale vs. Wayne Rooney: Which of the England and Wales heroes has the greatest soccer legacy originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When England host Wales in a Wembley friendly on Thursday, two men will be notable by their absence.
This is the eighth meeting of the neighbouring UK countries in the 21st century, but the first since both Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale have left the international stage.
Rooney and Bale each enjoyed heavily decorated club careers for Manchester United and Real Madrid respectively, and were simultaneously their nation's star players as well.
Rooney overtook fellow Man United great Sir Bobby Charlton to top England's scoring charts in September 2015. Two-and-a-half years later, Bale overtook Ian Rush to become Wales' all-time leading goalscorer.
Even though Rooney has since been usurped by the prolific Harry Kane as England's leading score, it underlines the status both men had in the previous decade as the leaders of their national teams during the height of their playing days.
But who was better? The Sporting News dives into the comparison of the two international greats and what they meant to their respective nations both then and now.
Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney trophies won
Rooney won five Premier League titles at Manchester United between 2006/07 and 2012/13. That made up a large chunk of 12 major honours overall, including three League Cups, an FA Cup and the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League.
United followed up that success by winning the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008 and also lifted the UEFA Europa League in 2016/17.
Bale won the first trophy of his career as a youngster when Tottenham claimed the 2007/08 League Cup. During the period when both played in the Premier League, they were each recognised as the outstanding player in England. Rooney won the FWA and PFA Footballer of the Year awards in 2009/10, while did the same double in 2012/13, having succeeded Rooney as the PFA winner in 2010/11.
At Real Madrid, he could not match the haul of league titles Rooney won at United. Bale was a key figure as Madrid won La Liga in 2016/17, but their 2019/20 and 2021/22 successes came with him as an increasingly marginalised squad member.
Bale scored an unforgettable late winner in the 2014 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, and with one of the most iconic overhead kicks in football history, he was similarly decisive in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool.
The Welshman also scored a key extra-time goal when Madrid overcame city rivals Atletico in the 2014 final and he won five Champions Leagues overall, with three UEFA Super Cups and Club World Cups duly following. As noted when Madrid won La Liga in 2021/22, Bale was little more than a mascot when he collected his final Champions League medal that season.
Both men enjoyed late career sojourns in MLS. Rooney went trophyless at DC United, but Bale's equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time in extra time helped Los Angeles FC add the MLS Cup to the 2022 Supporters' Shield.
If we also count Rooney's four Community Shield successes and Bale's triumph in the 2017 Supercopa de Espana, then the overall trophy haul stands at Rooney 16, Bale 18.
Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney international stats
Given their performances for their countries were the motivation for this piece, it's worth underlining how outstanding both Bale and Rooney were on the international stage.
Rooney won 120 caps for England, more appearances than any other outfield player in history and scored 53 goals. Kane has 74 in 109 appearances at the time of writing.
Kane overtook Rooney shortly after the 2022 World Cup, where Bale bade farewell to Wales. His group-stage penalty against the United States was the 41st and final goal of an 111-cap international career and was also his country's first goal at a World Cup finals since 1958.
Bale's finest hour in Wales colours came at Euro 2016, where he scored in all three of their group-stage games, including wins over Slovakia and Russia en route to the semifinals.
Cymru lost 2-1 to England in the group stage in France, with substitutes Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge cancelling out Bale's first-half opener. Rooney played in that game but did not score, having been deployed in a midfield role by then-boss Roy Hodgson.
Bale was surprisingly not named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament for Euro 2016, a distinction Rooney earned for his breakout performances at Euro 2004.
Bale vs. Rooney intangibles
The numbers make it hard to split these two. Bale has won more trophies, but Rooney was more or less integral to every one he lifted.
In the round, it feels like Rooney had the most consistently excellent career, but Bale was named player of the year twice in England to the United star's one. Rooney had plenty of success in cup finals, but he never had Kyiv 2018 against Liverpool.
Rooney was England's talisman but left the international stage at a time when frustration around his national team had seldom been higher. Wales have different levels of expectation, but Bale has Euro 2016, the win over Turkey at Euro 2020 and the penalty against the USA in 2022. He has a sporting immortality in his country that lay tantalisingly out of reach for Rooney.
Bale was key to Real Madrid's recent European Cup dynasty, thriving abroad to an extent no British player has in the modern era, while Rooney was the standout hero of Sir Alex Ferguson's last great Manchester United sides.
It's true that neither are universally loved by those fanbases. For that, blame Rooney's transfer requests, Bale's persistent injuries and the sense he downed tools in favour of golf clubs.
Who had the best career? This one really is a 'choose your own adventure' scenario. What feels certain is neither man would swap what they achieved.
MORE:Why did Gareth Bale retire? Enigmatic ex-Real Madrid and Wales star stands as modern British great
Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney net worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bale's gargantuan Real Madrid contracts helped him towards a net worth of $145 million.
The same website has Rooney with an even larger fortune of $175m.
Category: General Sports
