Rooney can be the best - Rio

Ferdinand tips teammate to bag even more goals

Last updated: 19th December 2008

Rooney can be the best - Rio

Rooney: tipped to score more goals

Wayne is playing more like an orthodox centre-forward for us and - given time - he could easily be the best in the world.

Rio Ferdinand.
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Rio Ferdinand is convinced Wayne Rooney can become the best orthodox centre-forward in the world.

Ahead of the draw for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League - which you can follow live on Sky Sports News and skysports.com from 10.30am on Friday - Ferdinand believes his teammate has the world at his feet.

Rooney has been asked to adopt more advanced positions this term as Sir Alex Ferguson tries to get the best out of the England international.

"Maybe it has had to be drilled into him, but Wayne is playing more like an orthodox centre-forward for us and - given time - he could easily be the best in the world," said Ferdinand.

"He has the capability, without a doubt.

"He has more tools in his box than any other number nine in the world.

"I have every confidence in him. It is just a matter of him being given the time, and I am sure he will put it into practice."

Selfish

Ferdinand also believes there are more goals to come from his England colleague but feels he needs to be a little greedier.

"Sometimes he needs to be more selfish," added the former West Ham star.

"I feel he is capable of getting 25 or 30 goals a season.

"I know how difficult Wayne can be to play against, and if he continues to keep working in the right areas he can be top scorer in the Premier League.

"But in order to achieve it, you must have a certain amount of selfishness - and he probably needs it a little bit more."