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Martin Keown says striker who left Man United for free was actually better than Tottenham legend Harry Kane

Shamanth Jayaram

Sat 25 January 2025 6:45, UK

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have both had a few great strikers over the years.

Harry Kane is the obvious name that comes to mind when you think of Spurs. He was absolutely unbelievable for them during his time there and is still one of the best in the world.

Even though Kane left Tottenham, he will go down as a legend of the club for everything he did after breaking into the side from the academy.

Martin Keown has seen a lot of Kane over the years, but he feels one old Manchester United star was better than the England captain.

Martin Keown names four reasons why Wayne Rooney was better than Harry Kane

Wayne Rooney is one of the greatest footballers to ever play in the Premier League.

The legendary Englishman spent 13 years as a Manchester United player and was their best for a lot of that period. He helped the Red Devils win 17 trophies, including five league titles.

Rooney left United on a free transfer in 2017, but he is still their all-time leading goalscorer and the only player in the club’s history to score over 250 goals.

He is regarded highly by many in the game even to this day, so much so that Arsenal legend Keown believes Rooney was a better player than Tottenham hero Kane.

In a video on Goal, the names of a few top strikers were put in front of Keown and he was asked to stay quiet until he heard of a better player than Kane.

The Arsenal Invincible didn’t say a word when Gabriel Jesus, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuain and Robin van Persie’s names were put to him.

But, when Rooney’s name popped up, Keown picked him. Why? He said: “I just think he was more spectacular, quicker, more eye-catching, probably (scored) more spectacular goals.

“Harry Kane can finish, he’s more consistent.”

READ MORE: West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen picks who was better player out of Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney vs Harry Kane stats compared

Rooney and Kane will both go down as two of the greatest strikers England has ever produced.

The Manchester United icon is no longer a player, but Kane, who will turn 32 this summer, is still going very strong at Bayern Munich.

Wondering how their numbers fare against each other for clubs and country? Here you go!

Kane is already ahead of Rooney in terms of goals scored, and there’s every chance he will end his career with more assists as well.

However, the Bayern Munich man hasn’t won a single senior trophy in his career yet, and there’s just no way he will ever come close to Rooney’s silverware tally.

That’s why most people will always rank Rooney higher than Kane during debates.