PFA Award Winner Wayne Rooney wants to be the Best Player at World Cup 2010

As one of the contenders for the coveted Golden Boot at this year’s World Cup finals tournament in South Africa, Wayne Rooney has spoken about his desire to prove he is the best in the world.

With stars like Lionel Messi, Kaka, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Luis Fabiano and his old team mate Cristiano Ronaldo all looking to shine at this summer’s football spectacle, Rooney is keen to show the world he is the best there is.

Rooney talked to BBC Sport at Park Lane’s Grosvenor House Hotel, on a high from receiving the Professional Footballer’s Association’s Players’ Player of the Year Award. Rooney won the award as a result of his high goalscoring record in the past year and the quality of his goals, 32 of them in the season for United, seeing off tough competition for the prize in the form of Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, who will be captaining the Ivory Coast in the World Cup, and Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal and World Cup favourites Spain.

Wayne Rooney spoke of his desire to outshine the world’s top stars at the World Cup 2010, and added that he felt England did have the squad to win it.

There had been some doubts about his fitness, with a punishing Premiership and European season putting strain on his groin, knee and ankle, which his club have termed is merely “fatigue”. Rooney promised, with confidence, that he will be on form for the World Cup.

Seemingly relishing the opportunity to share the stage with all the other players at the top of their game, Rooney just has to see out the rest of the Premiership season and then begin preparing for the greatest football competition on Earth.

Rooney is not a player who places too much focus on personal triumph and accolades, and is clearly very much a team man, but with this desire to shine in the World Cup, the odds of 12/1 for him winning the Golden Boot and 33/1 for the double on him and England lifting the cup make an interesting bet.

In other news from the PFA awards, resolute England manager Fabio Capello will have been pleased to see goalkeeper Joe Hart and Aston Villa’s James Milner both chosen alongside Rooney for the PFA’s star IX. Milner, who may well take the place of injured Aaron Lennon in Capello’s starting line-up, was also awarded Young Player of the Year.