Wayne Rooney says Newcastle United actually had a player better than Raul

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Newcastle United have some excellent players on the books right now. 

While the squad at Newcastle United is perhaps not as deep as others following a fallow period on the transfer front for the club, there are some brilliant talents at Eddie Howe’s disposal.  

Alexander Isak is surely considered amongst the best strikers in the world, while the likes of Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall could feasibly get into at least the squads of a number of other major European clubs.

This a Newcastle United squad to have made history, too. Last month, they won the Carabao Cup, ending the club’s 70-year wait for a major domestic honour. 

Still, Newcastle boasting brilliant players is hardly a new thing of course. The PIF takeover in 2021 might have brought the club into a new dimension but Newcastle have often had the kind of talents many others would envy.  

In fact, Wayne Rooney even thinks club legend Alan Shearer was so good, he was better than Real Madrid hero Raul.

• READ MORE: Who is Alan Shearer? Stats, Height, Wife, Daughter, Net Worth

Wayne Rooney says Alan Shearer was better than Raul

Though a few of the current players may end up running him close in the years to come should they continue on their current trajectory, there can be little doubt that Shearer is Newcastle’s greatest-ever player.  

Shearer joined Newcastle for a world-record £15million in 1996 and scored 206 goals in 405 games across a ten-year period. 

While he wasn’t lucky enough to win any trophies at the club, that can hardly be attributed to him alone. A local hero, Shearer rejected Manchester United for Newcastle, back during the time when the Old Trafford were the kings of English football.  

Rooney was asked by Amazon Prime to rank legends of the English game to those in the Spanish game ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League win against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.  

When asked to choose between Shearer and ex-Spain star Raul, Rooney opted for the Geordie hero.

Raul, of course, won three Champions League titles and a raft of League trophies during his record-breaking 16-year spell with Los Blancos. 

Alan Shearer’s iconic Newcastle United celebration explained

Shearer’s celebration was both famous and frequently seen in equal measure.

Its simplicity has stood the test of time, with many young Newcastle fans often seen holding their arm up with their hand outstretched while wheeling away to replicate him.

Recently, Shearer has explained his goal celebration. He’s revealed that he didn’t really know where it came from, first doing it out of instinct while at Southampton after being accused of being dull and boring.  

While certainly not as trophy-laden as Raul, Shearer’s record and enduring legacy can hardly be replicated anywhere else.