The former Nigeria international feels the 34-year-old should have clinched the highly-coveted trophy at his peak
Former Everton and Nigeria centre-back Joseph Yobo feels Wayne Rooney should have been in the top three in the Ballon d’Or or the Fifa World Player of the Year awards consistently. Yobo also praised Jay-Jay Okocha as one of the greatest footballers.
The ex-Super Eagles defender had an opportunity to play along with the former England international at Goodison Park and witnessed the talent displayed by the forward.
Rooney later joined Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2004 and went on to become a key member of the Red Devils team, helping them to win a number of laurels.
Yobo, who praised the 34-year-old, revealed he was surprised the forward never came close to winning the best player award.
“Wayne Rooney, great talent. I played with him coming through the ranks [at Everton]. I saw him at 16 and what this boy could do,” Yobo said in an Instagram Live.
“I’m a little bit surprised that he wasn’t always in the top three [best players]. I was expecting Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, always, all through, because he had that talent. He did.”
Yobo also hailed former Super Eagles captain Okocha for his mesmerizing skills during his playing years, saying the midfielder remains one of the best players he has seen.
“Jay-Jay, as the captain he wasn’t one of those that really enforces things, he is easygoing and then he leads by example basically but then on the football pitch he lets his football do the talking,” he continued.
“A lot of things that we saw in training people didn’t see in the game because the game is always structural.
“He is one of the best I have ever seen and played with talking about technical abilities and it was always fun playing around him because like I said he loves football.
“He enjoyed the game, if you are around Jay-Jay you must enjoy football, he was a special player”.
After leaving Everton in 2012, Yobo played for Fenerbahce in Turkey and had a stint with Norwich City before his retirement from professional football in 2016.
The 39-year-old also enjoyed great success on the international scene and featured in three World Cup tournaments in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
The centre-back captained the Super Eagles to their third Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa in 2013.
Since his retirement, Yobo has become a coach and was recently appointed as Nigeria assistant manager.
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