Whilst this is clearly untrue, I thought it would be interesting to compare Rooney and Mata, as if true I'm certain Man U would agree immediately. Although I am a huge fan of Rooney, I can't help but think that Mata is the better player, even though both play in a similar position but are very different players.
Stats:
Rooney: Mata:
Goals last season: 12 11
Assists: 11 13
Total contribution: 23 24
Games: 32 34
As you can see, both players have very similar stats. There is very little in pure contribution to games stat to differentiate the two in terms of performance. So what does Rooney have over Mata?
In my opinion, Rooney is better at controlling the game. Whilst Mata may be a better creative passer (arguably) there are very few players, certainly in the English game, who can control the game the way Rooney does. His range of passing is superb and he dictates the tempo of games. In some ways, he is similar to Scholes. He has a very good passing range and a thunderbolt of a strike from range. However, Scholes was a much better short passer and incredibly calm under pressure. What Rooney has instead is pace and strength. Rooney is deceptively quick; he doesn't appear to be that quick but he has a lot of pace, similarly to players like Mario Gomez.
Obviously, Rooney is a better defender than Mata. He works harder defensively and is more physical. He often makes defensive tackles and helps out in midfield, which is invaluable for a forward player. His attributes make him perfectly suited to central midfield, so I'm not surprised that Sir Alex tried to play him there.
Don't think however, that Mata can't compete. The Spanish magician has the ability to drift past players with ease that Rooney would kill for. Mata goes past players like they aren't there at times, due to his quick feet, electric acceleration and close control that is typical of Spanish footballers. He is probably a better creative passer due to his incredible vision and short passing. He is superb at finding space - he doesn't need to run as much as Rooney because he knows where he needs to be. He's always available and in space between the midfield and the defense, where he can hurt teams. Both players are superb finishers so it's difficult to compare them, but Rooney has a better shot from long range.
It's actually difficult to compare them and pick a winner. I'm a huge fan of both players, but for me Mata edges it, as I think he is better to watch in terms of playstyle. All in all, I think Rooney is a terrific player, but he isn't worth more than Mata. I think both in the same team, under Mourinho, would be deadly and would put Chelsea in pole position for the title.
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