Law backs Rooney to lead United bid

Club legend Denis Law has told uefa.com he expects Wayne Rooney to begin carving out his own niche in Manchester United FC's history as the Red Devils prepare for the new UEFA Champions League campaign.

True great
During an eleven-year Old Trafford career in which he scored 237 goals in 404 games, Law earned his place in the pantheon of United heroes, with a statue later erected in his honour outside the Stretford End. A single-minded and clinical finisher, the former Scottish international believes he has spied in Rooney the qualities that will allow the England forward to take up the goalscoring burden left by Cristiano Ronaldo on his departure for Real Madrid CF.

Record breaker
"Somebody asked me two or three years ago what would happen, and I said I've got a feeling he will break all the records for Manchester United, because he is that type of player," said Law, second in United's all-time scorers' chart, 12 goals behind Sir Bobby Charlton. "When Ronaldo was there, they were sharing it, and I felt he was doing a lot more work outside the box. Now the season has started and he has scored a couple of times, you can see he could score a lot of goals this season."

Ronaldo judgement
While Rooney may yet surpass Law's glorious achievements in the United No10 shirt, Ronaldo's impressive contribution to the cause has been brought to an abrupt halt. Law, though, was not surprised to see Madrid's massive bid for the Portuguese international accepted, and puts his faith in the proven judgement of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Faith in the manager
"Alex has been through these type of problems for many, many years, and he still comes up trumps," said the 69-year-old. "We knew that Ronaldo was going to go last year, so it wasn't a surprise. He is an excellent player and he will be missed at Manchester United for the goals he scored, but Alex knows what he's doing. That's why he has been probably the most successful manager, certainly of this last 50-odd years."

European legacy
For all his domestic dominance, Sir Alex's greatest legacy to United may be his triumphs in Europe in 1998/99 and 2007/08. Law, who along with Sir Bobby and George Best made up United's so-called 'Holy Trinity' of the 1960s, was one of the chief architects of the team's maiden continental victory in the 1967/68 European Champion Clubs' Cup, though injury kept him out of the final. The continent's élite club competition has undergone a major face-lift in the intervening decades, and the all-encompassing current format means Law cannot pick a winner this term.

United ambition
"Any one of probably half a dozen could go on and win it. Barcelona are a good team and they could defend the title, but Manchester United will be there at the end as well," said Law, who revealed a soft spot for one of United's biggest rivals – Ronaldo's new employers. "I think for all people of my age who played in that era, Real Madrid were the team. They were the team with Alfredo di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, they were the cream in the 50s and 60s. They went on to win so many European Cups. We want them to do well, definitely."

Denis Law spoke to uefa.com's James Agnew in Monaco, where he presented the Best Forward award at the UEFA Club Football Awards